Extra Baggage
by LexieMcSteamy
Summary: Lexie Grey returns to Seattle four years after she first arrived at Seattle Grace, only this time she has more with her than just her luggage.
1. Chapter 1

***Author's Note: This is my first fan fiction story, so any constructive criticism is appreciated. I do not have a Beta so I apologize for any grammar errors and typos I may have missed. I do not own any of the characters from Grey's Anatomy. If I did, there would be no Sloane, Sofia or plane crash. This story follows the Grey's timeline (with a few minor changes) and then turns into my story after Callie's car accident. Enjoy! ***

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**June 2012**

Lexie Grey was in deep thought as she watched the clouds below her pass by. This was the second time in four years that she was flying back to Seattle and she was having one of those how-did-I-get-here moments.

Her first trip, however sad it had been, was much easier to make than this flight home. Four years ago, she had just graduated from Harvard Medical school and was about to start her surgical residency at Massachusetts General when her happy little world was shattered by her sister Molly calling to tell her that their mother had died from a case of the hiccups. Hiccups! It was crazy as something as simple as the hiccups had completely changed Lexie's life plan and set in motion the events that led to her second return to Seattle.

When she had flown home four years ago, she was so full of sadness from the loss of her mother and uncertainty on how to handle her despondent father. Her adviser at Harvard had been able to pull some strings and secure her a place in the residency program at Seattle Grace Hospital, one of the best hospitals in the country. But Lexie had wished her professor had found her a placement at any other hospital. Her half-sister Meredith Grey, whom she had never met, was a resident at Seattle Grace, and from everything her mother had told her, wanted nothing to do with Lexie. Remembering that, she gave let out a small laugh. Oh, if only Meredith has been her biggest obstacle in Seattle.

Her first few months back in Seattle had been hard for her, but somehow she managed to hold her own during the beginning of her intern year, juggle a drunken father and slowly win over her sister. No, her biggest obstacle during her time at Seattle Grace came in the shape of a six-foot tall wall of muscles with perfect salt-and-peppered hair, a beard that surrounded a devilish shit-eating grin and a pair of intense blue eyes that could cut right to Lexie's core.

At that moment, Lexie looked over and saw two pairs of those same blue eyes staring up at her and couldn't help but smile. Four years ago, she had traveled light, but on this trip home, she had extra baggage.

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**** Author's Note: The following chapters will be much longer. I wanted this to be a quick introduction to the storyline and to see what people thought. I have a timeline all planned out and will be telling the back story. Trust me, I want to get Mark in here as soon as possible. :) **  
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**Please review! I'd love to know what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Extra Baggage – Chapter 2**

*** Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for the reviews! I am so flattered and happy that you like this story. This chapter is much, much longer. At this point, Lexie is still on the plane and thinking back to what happened. Please let me know if anything is confusing with the tense of how I'm telling the back story. There will probably be another chapter or two like this and then we will be completely in the present (and Mark is going to be mad *wink, wink*). I promise this story will have a VERY happy ending, though. :)**

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**June 2012 – Plane to Seattle**

Lexie Grey had a life plan for as long as she could remember. By high school, she knew she wanted to be a surgeon. She learned everything she needed to about how to become a world-class surgeon and came up with a timeline that would make that happen. She was going to graduated high school at the top of her class, get her undergraduate degree, attend medical school at Harvard, complete her residency at a top rated hospital, win a spot in an amazing fellowship program and then start her own practice. Then, and only then, was she going to meet a wonderful man, get married, buy a house in a neighborhood with good schools and have 2.5 kids. She. Had. A. Plan.

She had managed to complete the first three steps of her plan quite easily. With a photographic memory, school had been very easy for Lexie. She earned amazing grades and the praises of her professors and the respect of her peers. She was doing great until she started her residency. Her mom's death had thrown a wrench in her plans but she was able to adapt quickly to going back to Seattle. Her plan was still going to work in Seattle…

At this point, a soft coo broke her train of thought. _I ramble even in my mind_, thought Lexie. But, she couldn't begrudge the interruption. The two little beings sitting beside her on the plane were a welcome distraction at anytime. She reached over and tickled the belly of the daughter who was making noises at her.

No, a baby definitely wasn't part of her plan. So, what did fate do? Fate gave her two babies. Two beautiful, healthy baby girls with gorgeous blue eyes. Even after six months, she still laughed about it. Babies are what drove her to leave Seattle in the first place. Mark Sloan's babies to be exact. First, he wanted her to be a step-grandmother at 25 and she had bolted from his life. Then, when they had finally found their way back to each other and seemed to be on their way to building a future together, he dropped the bombshell that he was having another baby with a woman besides her. So, she had walked away from Mark again. Only the second time, it was so much harder. She saw him every day and he was so happy to be having a baby even if that meant sacrificing their relationship.

It was at that point in her life that Lexie decided that fate wanted to screw with her. Fate threw a six-month pregnant Callie Torres threw a windshield and almost killed her and Mark's unborn baby. During those following 36 hours while Callie was in a coma, Lexie spent almost every moment with Mark. They may have had their differences over children, but she never stopped loving him and he needed love more during those painful hours than any other time in his life.

So, she stayed with Mark all night stroking his hair while he slept, holding his hand while he cried and helping to distract him from the pain.

* * *

_March 31, 2011_

_Mark's head was lying on Lexie's lap and she was stroking his hair while he slept. She hated that he was in so much pain right now, but she couldn't help the little flutters she felt by just being able to touch him again. Seeing him on a daily basis but not being able to touch him was the most painful thing about their whole break up. He was always so close, yet so far away._

_She felt Mark stirring and he slowly turned his head to look at her. "Has anyone been in to update you?" he whispered._

"_Meredith came in about half an hour ago, but nothing had changed. That's not bad, though. That's means she's holding on." Lexie gave him a small smile. _

_With a sad sigh, he sat up and leaned against her shoulder. "Thank you for being here."_

"_M..Mark. You never have to thank me for helping you."_

"_I feel like I should. I keep screwing up your life. You don't have any reason to be nice to me." Mark looked at her and gave her the 'I'm Mark Sloan. Why would anyone care for me?" smile._

_Lexie reached over and put her hand on his cheek. "I care for you Mark and you need someone right now. So, I'm here for whatever you need."_

_That's when the look in Mark's eyes changed. "Whatever I need?" he said as in a husky tone._

_Before Lexie could even swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, Mark's mouth was on hers. For one brief second, she resisted, but as Mark deepened the kiss, Lexie gave in and let Mark lower her onto the couch._

* * *

It was only a few hours later that Callie had been rushed into surgery and Sofia had been delivered. Thankfully, Callie had pulled through and after months of recovery, both she and Sofia were able to go home. After Sofia had been born, Mark had been too busy sitting with her and Callie to give much thought to what had happened in the on-call room that night. He was building a life that didn't include her and it was too painful to watch. So, Lexie started creating a new plan. She had kept in touch with a few friends from med school who were doing their residency at Mass General. When one of her friends mentioned that a fellow resident had dropped out of the program, Lexie jumped on the opportunity and put in a few calls. When Mass Gen found out Lexie Grey, the Harvard grad with the photographic memory, wanted to be part of their program, they offered her the opening and she accepted.

Lexie put in her two-week notice at Seattle Grace Mercy West on the same day that Sofia finally went home. Mark was so busy getting settled at home that it wasn't until the following week that he found out she was leaving. Everyone had expressed sadness at her resignation, but Mark was furious.

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_May 22, 2011_

_She was standing by the vending machines when Mark came storming around the corner. _

"_How the hell can you leave without telling me?" Mark yelled._

_Lexie had been preparing for this moment, but she didn't expect this much anger from him. "Tell you?" she yelled back. "Tell you? Since when do I have to tell you anything? We broke up, remember? You started another life without me!"_

"_What about that night in the on-call room? Didn't that mean anything to you?" Mark's face was starting to turn red by this point as he was trying to keep his anger in check._

_With a very level voice, Lexie said, "Mark, that was lovely. But, you were sad. I was sad for you. That was two people comforting each other. Sleeping together didn't fix our problems. We still want two very different things."_

"_Lex… we can fix this…"_

"_No, we can't. You want a family. I don't. Not right now. It will be years before I want that. And you have Sofia right now. It won't work." She shook her head and smiled sadly. "I love you. I am always going to love you. But I don't want to love you. I want to be happy. But, if you keep pulling at me, I'll come back to you. And if I'm here, you will keep pulling at me."_

_Mark let her words sink in and then nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry."_

"_You got what you wanted. You have a family. Would you please just let me have what I want?" she said throwing her hands in the air._

"_I said you were right. I'm letting you go, Lexie. That means you gotta walk away."_

_She gave him one more glance and then turned to walk about but stopped herself. She turned around and took a few steps until she was standing directly in front of him. Lexie looked up into those blue eyes for a moment and then reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his arms come up around her back. She stayed like that for a minute and then whispered in his ear, "Good-bye Mark." Then, she turned and walked away without looking back. _

* * *

She left Seattle the following week. She could have stayed for Callie and Arizona's wedding, but she didn't want to run into Mark again. She got to Boston at the beginning of June and quickly immersed herself into working. Her med school friend Sarah, the one who had told her about the job, had just moved into a three-bedroom apartment with another colleague, so it worked out perfectly for Lexie to move right in.

With Lexie's crazy work schedule and getting settled into her new apartment, it wasn't until the middle of July that she noticed how tired and run down she was feeling. At first she thought she was coming down with the flu, but when she started counting and realized it had been months since she actually had a period. She had changed birth control over a year ago and some months didn't even get a period which was great, so not getting a period didn't concern her. At least it didn't until she started feeling sick all the time.

She had been at the hospital when she realized she might be pregnant. Lexie literally ran to the nearest supply closet and grabbed as many pregnancy tests as she could fit into her pockets and locked herself in the nearest handicap bathroom.

The three minutes it took for the five strips to change were the longest and scariest minutes of her life except for the minute when Mr. Clark had pointed the gun at her. When the three minutes were up, she looked at the tests and burst into tears.

The pilot's voice coming across the intercom brought Lexie back from her thoughts. They would be landing in Seattle in 20 minutes. _Here we go_, she thought.

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*** Two questions. How was the length? And, what do you think should be the names of the Slexie babies? **


	3. Chapter 3

**Extra Baggage – Chapter 3**

***Author's Note: Again, I can't thank everyone enough for the reviews and story alerts. This story was something I started on a whim. I haven't written anything in years. So, I am so excited it is being so well received. I am enjoying writing it. It's written in my head, so hopefully I will post 2-3 chapters a week. **

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Once the plane came to a stop, Lexie began to gather up all the baby items needed when traveling with two infants. It was tough being a single mother traveling alone, but Lexie knew she couldn't complain. _ You only have yourself to blame, _she said to herself. The reason Lexie ended her relationship with Mark was because he wanted kids and she did not. So, she knew if she had told him about the babies, he would have been on the next flight to Boston. She wanted to tell him. She _was_ going to tell him multiple times, but the every time she got up the nerve, something got in her way.

After seeing five positive pregnancy tests, Lexie had freaked out. She could not believe this had happened. _Damn you, Mark Sloan! How could you get me in this situation a THIRD time?_ Somehow she managed to make it through the rest of her shift that day and as soon as she got home, she cried until she fell asleep. When she woke up the next morning, she felt numb and despite being a doctor and knowing she needed prenatal care, she was in denial and spent the next week walking around in a complete haze.

It wasn't until a bout of morning sickness almost kept her out of surgery that she made an appointment during the last week of July.

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_July 26, 2011_

_As Lexie sat on the exam table waiting for her doctor to come in, she still couldn't believe this was happening. Well, she knew how it happened. The day of Callie's accident, she had been so preoccupied with Mark that she forgot to take her birth control. She doubled up the next day and never thought anything of it until the day she had to pee on five pregnancy tests._

_Just then, the doctor, a middle-aged woman with a pleasant face came walking in. "Hi, I'm Dr. Danner. I understand this is your first prenatal appointment?"_

"_Well… this isn't a prenatal appointment. I just found out I was pregnant last week, but I'll be 17 weeks pregnant this Thursday."_

"_Are you sure it's been that long? That's a long time to go without knowing you're pregnant."_

_Lexie sighed. "I know. I'm a doctor. But, yes, I'm sure. I got pregnant on March 31. I know because that was the only sex I've had in months and I also missed a pill that day. I'm sure."_

_Dr. Danner gave Lexie a soft smile because she sounded so depressed and overwhelmed. "Well, how about we do an ultrasound and see what we have going on, ok?"_

"_Ok." Lexie winced as the cold gel was placed on her stomach, but when she saw the baby appear on the screen, she couldn't help but feel a small flutter in her heart. It was when she heard the second heartbeat that her heart plummeted into her stomach. She was having twins._

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After her first appointment, Lexie followed all her doctor's rules. She took her vitamins, she made sure she ate properly, she took breaks between surgeries but she refused to admit to herself that she was going to be a mother. She knew she was pregnant. She knew she had two babies growing inside of her and soon it was going to be really noticeable, if people weren't noticing already. She hoped they thought she was just getting fat. But, she wouldn't admit that she was going to be a mother because that meant this was real and her life would be forever changed.

It wasn't until one day at the end of August that she finally let it set in. She had a rare day off work and spent it visiting some of the spots she loved while going to college there. She didn't realize it, but she ended up by Boston Harbor. She had come here a few times since she was back because being by the water reminded her of Seattle.

Lexie was staring out over the water lost in thought when she felt a bump against her leg. When she looked down, there was a little girl about three years old standing beside her leg. She had wavy brown hair and the cutest little face, but what got her were the girl's eyes. She had beautiful blue eyes. The little girl just smiled at Lexie and she felt goose bumps go down her arms.

Quickly, the girl's mother came over and apologized. Lexie just smiled and as she watched that little girl walk away, it hit her. She was going to be a mother. And, she needed to call Mark.

* * *

Lexie waited until all the passengers had left the plane before even attempting to exit. She was thrilled that her girls had slept through most of the trip. Surprisingly, her daughters didn't fuss a lot and were generally happy babies. It made her life as surgical resident and single mother that much easier. She just wished the time leading up to their birth had been that easy.

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_August 22, 2011_

_Lexie had literally been staring at the phone sitting on her bed for forty-five minutes. She had tried picking up the phone several times but each time she reached for it, she chickened out. So, after several pep-talks, she decided to take the easy way out and call her sister first. She would subtly ask Meredith how things were going in Seattle, find out how Mark was doing and then call him._

_But, when Meredith answered the phone, Lexie immediately knew something was wrong. "H..hi, Lexie." Meredith barely got those words out of her mouth before she started crying. Lexie was stunned. Meredith only cried if something was REALLY wrong._

"_Oh my god, Mer. What's wrong? Are you sick? Are you hurt?" Lexie exclaimed._

_"Lexie, I screwed everything up. I switched the placebos in Derek's trial so Adele could get the drug and Alex saw me. He got drunk and told Owen what happened and now everything is a mess. Derek's trial was taken away from him and he moved out. We have been taking turns with Zola and the social worker found out. Then, I got fired and in a panic hid in the hospital basement with Zola for hours. Janet had already reported it and they took Zola. They took Zola away, Lexie!" she cried as she bursts into tears again._

_Lexie didn't know what to say. She had tried comforting Meredith as best of she could over the phone. "Meredith, I am so sorry all this happened. And, I'm sorry I am not there to help you right now. I'm sure Derek will come to his senses and come home. He loves you, Meredith. You just need to give him some time to be mad. And, I'm sure the courts will realize what great parents you are. You and Derek are both wonderful doctors. Zola could not be with better people."_

_As Lexie said those words to Meredith, she was positive everything would work out for them. What judge wouldn't grant custody of a child with special medical conditions to two doctors? She was sure it would only be a matter of days, or at the most a few weeks, before everything was resolved and Zola was home. So, she decided she would wait until Zola was home to tell Meredith about her pregnancy. She couldn't tell her grieving sister who had struggled so hard to be a mother that she was going to be a mother to twins in a few months. _

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Lexie had stayed on the phone with Meredith for almost an hour that day and told Meredith to call her as soon as they found out something on Zola. But, days quickly turned into weeks and still no word from the courts. Lexie spoke with Meredith on a weekly basis and as each week passed, Meredith sounded more despondent. During those phone calls, Lexie wanted so badly to ask about Mark, but she didn't have the heart to burden her sister.

She continued working at the hospital and it was soon very apparent that she was pregnant. Lexie knew people were whispering and gossiping about her behind her back, but she just brushed it off. She had dealt with plenty of gossip at Seattle Grace and Lexie Grey was good at adapting to a hostile environment. Her roommate Sarah was very supportive the whole time. Sarah knew her due date was the end of December meaning the father lived in Seattle. But, she never pushed the issue. She figured if Lexie wanted to talk about it, she would.

Sarah helped Lexie research apartments in the city that were within her budget. Lexie didn't have much money to work with, but they managed to find a loft apartment in an older, but serviceable, building within a manageable distance to the hospital. She figured she would be able to live in the apartment until she finished her residency and once she was making more money find a nicer place. Sharing one big open space with two babies was not her ideal living situation, but it's not like she would be getting much company.

Between the crazy hours she worked as a resident and dealing with carrying two babies, the months flew by and it was quickly approaching Thanksgiving. She always loved the holidays, but now that she was alone in Boston, she was dreading them, especially Thanksgiving. She remembered the Thanksgiving three years ago. She had so been looking forward to spending it with Mark until Sloane had shown up. From that point on, it seemed her life had just spiraled out of control.

So, Lexie had hoped fate would take a little pity on her that year since she was pregnant and alone. But, she was a Grey and in typical Grey fashion, fate wanted to screw with her again.

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_November 15, 2011_

_Lexie was exhausted as she walked back to the residents' locker room. She had been in surgery for the last four hours. A four hour surgery would have been a breeze except she was 7 ½ months pregnant. She knew she was getting close to having to go on maternity leave. Dr. Danner had been keeping a close eye on her. The babies were doing great, but Dr. Danner anticipated she would go into labor before her due date. Lexie's biggest fear was she would end up on bed rest and since she was living alone would make life incredibly difficult. Dr. Danner hoped to avoid bed rest if Lexie agreed to work half shifts and spend most of her days charting. And, after the day she had, Lexie was not going to disagree._

_As she sat down on the bench in front of her locker, she felt her phone vibrate. She had not checked it since she came out of surgery and when she saw four missed calls from Meredith, she panicked. When she had talked to Meredith at the end of last week, she found out their court date had been cancelled. Meredith had said they were still hopeful, but Lexie could tell Meredith didn't believe that._

_So, when Meredith answered the phone all happy and bubbly, Lexie was really confused. "Lexie, Lexie. I have been trying to call you for hours!" Meredith exclaimed._

"_Is everything ok? What's going on?" _

"_Zola is home! Janet brought her back on Friday. I've wanted to call you sooner but it has been crazy getting her settled back in." Lexie could hear the happiness in Meredith's voice._

"_Oh, Mer! That's so great. I'm so happy for you and Derek." Lexie was genuinely happy for her sister and brother-in-law, but she was also happy for herself. Meredith had her child back, so Lexie could finally tell her sister about her babies. _

_As Lexie opened her mouth to tell Meredith about her pregnancy, Meredith exclaimed, "Yes, everyone has been great and so helpful. Owen gave us a few days off work, so we can spend time with Zola. And, the house has been full of visitors. Callie and Arizona and Mark and Julia have been by with Sophia so the "cousins" can get to know each other…"_

_Lexie knew that Meredith was still talking but all she heard was a buzzing in her ears. **Julia? Julia? Who the hell was Julia?** The babies seemed to agree too because as soon as Meredith said the word, both babies started kicking up a storm._

"_M..M..Meredith, who's Julia?" Lexie asked in a shaky voice._

_Meredith was so happy about Zola that she didn't even notice the difference in her sister's voice. "Julia is Mark's girlfriend. They've dating for about three months now and they seem really happy. She gets along with Callie and Arizona. And, she's great with Sophia and Zola likes her too."_

_It was at that moment that Lexie decided not to tell Mark. She had left him. She had told him to move on. And, now he was happy. With someone else. To disrupt his life now would be cruel. He had a life, a family, that didn't involve her. And, she was going to have her own family in Boston. _

* * *

Lexie had gone into labor less than a month after her conversation with Meredith. She was fully committed to raising her children on her own, so when Dr. Danner admitted her to the hospital, she didn't even let her call Sarah. She suffered through the long hours of labor alone. It was one of the most difficult things she had done, but Lexie Grey was much tougher than people knew. And, when she heard the cries of her babies, she knew it had been worth it.

Lexie had wanted the sex of the babies to be a surprise. When Dr. Danner told her they were identical twin girls, she was amazed. When the nurse placed the two pink bundles in her arms, Lexie's heart swelled. She hadn't realized it was possible to love someone as much as she loved the two babies in her arms.

As she sat there cradling her daughters, she felt happier than she had in her whole life. But when those beautiful babies opened their eyes and looked at her, Lexie was got the shock of her life. She was a doctor and she knew babies' eyes could change colors. But, staring up at her with two innocent gazes, were the brilliant blue eyes of Mark Sloan.

* * *

The flight attendant helped Lexie off the plane and strapped the girls' baby carriers into their stroller. Lexie put a big smile on her face and began to push the girls toward the terminal and thought, _Emma Rose Grey and Kayleigh Susan Grey, it's time to meet Seattle. _

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**Author's Note: Thanks for the suggestions on baby names. I went with Emma Rose and Kayleigh Susan. (I know there was nurse Rose but I also love Titanic and as much as I want to use that name someday for my own daughter, my husband hates it. So, in fiction it goes.) And I thought Kayleigh was unique and it's my little shout-out to Chyler. **

**Also, I do not have children yet, so if anything is inaccurate with the pregnancy or child care information, just go with it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Extra Baggage – Chapter 4**

*** Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews! My inbox was flooded; I love it! It took a little longer to get this chapter up than I thought it would. It's longer than the first three chapters combined because it is so important to the story.**

**We are almost done with the flashbacks. The beginning of this chapter flashes back to how Meredith finds out and then we will fully be in the present. I know we all want Mark in the picture but the back story was really important for Lexie's secrecy to be plausible. I was so excited to write this chapter. Lexie is finally in Seattle and Mark will find out. I'm saying nothing more. ;) Enjoy!**

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**June 2012 - Seattle**

Lexie came around the corner and quickly began scanning the crowd for her ride. She had made Meredith swear she would come alone and not tell anyone, even Derek, that she was coming back to Seattle. She gave a huge sigh of relief as she saw Meredith standing in the terminal alone. Other than her sister and brother-in-law, she wanted to talk to Mark personally before anyone else found out.

* * *

_4 Days Ago_

_Lexie had just finished putting Emma and Kayleigh to bed when her phone rang. She was tired and just wanted to go to bed herself. She briefly contemplated letting the call go to voicemail until she saw it was from Meredith. Since Meredith and Derek had gotten Zola back, the phone calls between the sisters had lessened in frequency, but they still tried to keep in touch two to three times a month. Usually, it was Lexie who initiated the call, so if Meredith was calling, it was probably something important._

_On the fourth ring, Lexie finally answered. "Hi, Mer."_

"_Hey, Lexie! Guess what? I passed my boards!" exclaimed Meredith. Lexie smiled to herself. The change in Meredith since Zola was back was evident, even over the phone. No one would ever consider Meredith Grey bubbly, but she was no longer dark and twisty._

"_That's fantastic, Meredith. I'm so happy for you!"_

"_Yea, so am I. I was really afraid I wasn't going to pass because Zola gave me the flu and I was really sick during the test. But, I passed! So, now I just have to decide what job to take," Meredith said._

"_What are your top choices?" asked Lexie._

"_Well, Seattle is in the running, but so is Boston. Derek got offered a position at Harvard. He would be running his own department and working with the top fellows in the world. He wants to cure Alzheimer's and since I screwed up his trial, I think I should give this to him. If we move to Boston, Zola will have her Aunt Lexie close. There isn't much tying us to Seattle anymore now that you left." _

_As Lexie listened to Meredith talk, she was excited at the thought of having family in the same city. She had really missed her dad and her sister over the last year. But, at the same time, if Meredith and Derek came to Boston, there was no way to keep her little secrets hidden._

"_What about your house, Mer? Derek has been building the McMansion for years and it's finally finished. What are you going to do with it?" Lexie asked._

_Meredith laughed. "I said the same thing. Derek said it's just a house. It's not his dream. He said there are houses in Boston. He said we'll sell it. He laughed and said Mark can buy it." In a deep voice, Meredith mocked "Mark's dreams were always my dreams." Meredith laughed. "So, I guess we'll sell it. I bet Mark would buy it. He can fill it with all the babies he's going to have with Julia. He wants to give Sofia a lot of siblings."_

"_Wait! What? Mark's going to have kids with Julia?" Lexie practically shrieked through the phone. "Isn't it a bit early to be talking about kids? That's an insane idea! Derek told him that's an insane idea, right?" By this point, Lexie had jumped off the couch and was pacing._

"_Whoa, Lexie. Calm down! What's the big deal? You know how Mark is. He moves fast. It was Julia's idea to have a baby. Besides, you broke up with Mark and moved to Boston. Why do you care?" Meredith asked._

_Even though Lexie had never met Julia, the thought of Mark having a baby with her made her want to throw up. She knew Mark wanted a large family since he grew up an only child. He wouldn't want that for Sofia. But, Sofia already had siblings. Lexie looked over to the far corner of her loft where her daughters were sleeping. Emma and Kayleigh were Sofia's siblings. Julia's children weren't supposed to be part of Sofia's life. Her children were. __**Oh God, **__Lexie though, __**what have I done?**_

"_Lexie, Lexie. Are you still there?" asked Meredith with concern in her voice._

"_Meredith, are you alone right now?" asked Lexie._

"_Why?" asked Meredith._

"_Are you alone right now? I need to tell you something important and I don't want anyone else to hear." _

"_Yes, Derek's still at work. What's going on?" Meredith was genuinely puzzled. Lexie could be a little spastic at times, but she was acting very odd._

"_I'm going to tell you something and you have to promise me you won't interrupt me until I tell you the entire story, ok?" Lexie asked._

"_Ok, I promise. Now tell me what's going on!" _

_Lexie took a deep breath. __**Just say it, just say it, just say it. **__"I have two daughters. They are twins. Their names are Emma Rose and Kayleigh Susan. They were born on December 8, 2011. They were conceived on March 31." Lexie paused before she forced out the next words. "Meredith, they're Mark's."_

* * *

During the rest of their phone conversation, Lexie had explained to Meredith her reasons for not telling Mark. Meredith had been silent during her entire confession. Then, she simply told Lexie that she had to tell Mark and she had to tell him in person. Lexie made Meredith promise that she wouldn't say anything to anyone, even Derek, until Lexie got back to Seattle.

It took the next three days for Lexie to make arrangements to return to Seattle. Lexie told her chief of surgery that she had a family emergency and she had to go to Seattle immediately. She had to beg and plead and call in every favor she had at Mass Gen to get a week off so soon after her maternity leave. Booking three plane tickets at the last minute had cost Lexie a small fortune. She had a small savings account from life insurance money from when her mother died. It had been saved for emergencies and Lexie felt this was as big of an emergency as she was ever going to have. She had to let Mark know he already had more children before he did anything stupid with Julia.

Despite being nervous about being in Seattle, Lexie was really happy to be home. When Lexie finally reached where Meredith was standing, she ran around the stroller and gave Meredith a huge hug. She knew that hugging wasn't Meredith's thing, but she was so happy to see her sister after a year.

Meredith pulled back and smiled at Lexie. She had not realized how much she had missed her sister until now.

Then, Meredith looked down at the little girls in the stroller. Her nieces were staring at her with their big blue eyes and smiling big toothless grins.

"Oh my god, Lexie!" Meredith exclaimed. "There is no hiding the truth now. You gave birth to mini-Sloans!"

* * *

Derek Sheperd was in the elevator heading down to the daycare to pick up Zola when the doors opened and Mark Sloan got on.

Mark looked at Derek's clothes and then at his watch. "Isn't it a little early for you to be cutting out?" It was only 4pm and Derek Sheperd was not known for leaving work early.

"Meredith has a surprise for me and told me to come home early today. She made arrangements with Hunt to leave early. I think she made a decision on Boston and is going to tell me tonight. Not sure what she has planned though but I can guess because she left Zola in daycare." Derek grinned at Mark.

"Oh, that kind of surprise," said Mark, with a sly grin on his face.

"What about you? Have you impregnated Julia yet?" asked Derek.

Mark sighed. "No, not yet. I wanted to take my time with the decision."

"And?" Derek asked.

"I think I'm going to. She's at a conference right now and won't be back for a few days. But, I can't think of any reasons not to, can you?" Mark asked Derek.

Derek just looked at Mark as the doors opened. "I think you need to be having the conversation with Julia, not me."

As the elevators were closing, Mark yelled, "Thanks for your advice. Enjoy your surprise!"

* * *

Derek was excited as he walked up the steps to his front door with Zola in his arms. He really hoped that Meredith had decided on Boston. He knew she didn't want to leave Seattle, but he knew he could find a cure for Alzheimer's if he had the resources and Harvard could give that to him. Plus, his family lived on the East Coast and Lexie lived in Boston. He knew Meredith missed Lexie, even though she didn't admit it. If they were in Boston, Meredith could spend time with her sister and Zola could get to know her aunt.

As he was pulling his keys out of his pockets, he said to Zola, "Now, you are going to be a good little girl for Mommy and Daddy tonight and go to sleep early right?" If his suspicions were correct, Meredith had an elaborate plan to tell him her decision. Having a sex life with a one-year old in the house was tricky and took some planning, so he was looking forward to some 'alone' time with his wife.

When Derek opened the door, he heard voices. _Great,_ he thought_. Cristina is probably here and the Twisted Sisters are going to tag team me to convince me to stay in Seattle. _But, Derek Sheperd should have known after five years that nothing was simple when it came to the Grey family.

The last thing he expected to see when he walked into his living room that evening was his sister-in-law. But, what was even more astonishing was that both Meredith and Lexie were holding babies.

Lexie looked up when she heard Derek come into the room. "Hi, Derek," said Lexie. "Oh my god, look how big Zola is!" She had met Zola briefly when Alex brought over the children from Africa for the pro-bono surgeries, but when she left for Boston, Meredith and Derek had not started the adoption process. "I'm so happy to be able to see her!" Derek didn't say a word. He just stood there staring at the babies. Zola's squirming finally brought him out of his trance.

"Whose babies are they?" he finally managed to squeak out.

* * *

"How the hell could she not tell him?" Derek yelled. He was pacing around their bedroom like a mad man. Meredith just sat quietly on the bed staring at her husband. After Lexie had told her the little girls were Mark's, Meredith had sat Zola on the sofa besides Lexie and dragged her stunned husband up the steps before he could say anything in front of the children.

"Did you know?" Derek accused. "He's my best friend. If both of you kept this secret from him, I'm going –."

Calmly, Meredith cut him off. "No, I didn't know. I called her a couple days ago to tell her I passed my boards and that we were considering moving to Boston. She asked about the house and I made some comment about Mark building it and filling it with Julia's babies. She freaked out and confessed everything."

"But, why? Why wouldn't see tell Mark she was pregnant?" asked Derek, running his fingers through his hair.

"Because of Zola." Meredith said simply.

"What does Zola have to do with Lexie being pregnant?" Derek asked perplexed.

"She didn't find out for months and the day she called to talk to me, we had just lost custody of Zola. So, she waited until Zola was back. But, then it was too late. Mark was with Julia. Looking back now, I should have realized something was wrong with her, but I was too involved with Zola. It was wrong of her. She should have told him, but she kept silent to protect us. So, we are going to support her, ok?"

"Ok." Derek said. He felt really bad for Lexie after realizing the reason for her raising two babies alone was partially, in a roundabout way, their fault. "But, she has to tell Mark."

"She will. Tomorrow."

* * *

When Meredith and Derek came downstairs the next morning, Lexie was already in the kitchen. Emma and Kayleigh were in their baby carriers on top of the table and Lexie was pacing back and forth.

"Lexie, you need to stop that or you are going to wear a hole in the floor," joked Meredith.

"This isn't funny!" Lexie yelled. "You don't get to laugh about this."

Meredith picked up an empty bag of chips from the counter and looked at Lexie.

"That was my breakfast. Don't judge me!" said Lexie still pacing.

Derek took pity on Lexie. He put Zola in her high chair and then walked over and pulled out a chair for Lexie. "Sit," he said firmly. Lexie just plopped down into the chair. "You are going to eat a real breakfast and then we are going to go to the hospital together." At the mention of hospital, Lexie put her head on the table and her daughters giggled.

Derek smiled at his nieces. Even if he was disappointed in Lexie, he was already in love with Emma and Kayleigh. After he had finished his tirade last night, Meredith and Derek had spent the evening getting to know their little nieces and Lexie did the same with Zola. Derek had to admit that Mark and Lexie made some adorable children. He felt bad because his best friend was about to be bombarded with some huge news. But, he _had _wanted siblings for Sofia and he was going to get them, he thought with a soft chuckle.

Derek sat down beside Lexie and forced her to raise her head. "He is going to be soooo mad," she whispered.

He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Yes, he is. I wish I could tell you otherwise. But, I know Mark. He is going to mad, hurt and feel betrayed. But, you're a parent now and the mother of his children. You have to go to him as an adult and tell him. Once he meets them, he'll calm down. The worst part will be telling him, ok?"

"Ok," she said forcing a small smile.

Meredith had arranged for a babysitter to come stay with Zola, Kayleigh and Emma today. This way, the cousins could get to know each other and Lexie's daughters would not have to come to the hospital. Lexie wanted to tell Mark before anyone else found out. There was no denying Emma and Kayleigh's parentage. One look at those blue eyes and cheek bones and it screamed "My daddy is Mark Sloan." It would only take one nurse getting a peak at them before the news was all over the hospital.

They heard a knock on the door. "That's the sitter," Meredith said as she went to open the door.

* * *

Lexie stood outside of the hospital staring at the words "Seattle Grace Mercy West." She had tried to deny it to herself, but she really missed working here. She was probably crazy for thinking that though because it seemed like nothing but bad things happened to the people who worked at this hospital.

But, despite the bad things that had happened during the three years she worked here, this hospital had given her a lot. She built a relationship with her sister, she gained a big brother, she had some great friends and most importantly she met Mark, who had given her Emma and Kayleigh. Despite the heartache of the last year, her daughters were the best thing that had ever happened to her. Now, she just had to find the courage to tell the man who helped create them that Emma and Kayleigh existed.

She was broken out of her trance but Meredith grabbing her arm and dragging her into the hospital. "It's now or never, Lexie."

* * *

Lexie was trying to keep a low profile. She was kind of hiding in a corner by the nurses' station on the surgical floor. Meredith was checking on Mark's schedule for the day. She wanted to talk to him alone and she knew Mark hid in his office between surgeries to avoid being bothered by residents and interns.

She thought she was unseen until she heard a voice say "Dude, it's Lexipedia!."

Lexie turned around to see Alex Karev grinning at her.

"Hi, Alex," Lexie replied smiling. It was nice to see a familiar face.

"What are you doing in Seattle?" he asked.

"Uh, well, I…" Lexie said. She hadn't thought this through. "I had a little time off and I wanted to visit before everyone left for new jobs." She hoped that sounded convincing. She was never a good liar. Her face always gave her away.

Alex didn't seem to notice any flaws in her story. "That's cool. I'm glad I got to see you. I got offered a job at Hopkins. I leave in two weeks."

"Oh my god, Alex! That's amazing. Congratulations!" Lexie exclaimed as she threw her arms around him.

"Thanks," Alex said. As he pulled back from the hug, he had an odd expression on his face.

"What's the matter?" Lexie asked.

"Dude, did you get a boob job?" Alex asked laughing.

"What?" Lexie cried. "No, I did NOT get a boob job. Why would you even ask me that?"

"Because we slept together many times Lexie and while your boobs were nice, I know they weren't that big. That's funny. You dated the top plastic surgeon in the country for years and went to Boston and got implants." Alex had a huge smirk on his face.

Lexie was really flustered. She did not judge people who had plastic surgery. That was their own business, but she was quite happy with her body and didn't like the idea of Alex thinking the first thing she did in Boston was get fake boobs.

"I DID NOT have plastic surgery, Alex," Lexie said through clenched teeth.

"Well, either you got implants or you're breastfeeding. I work in Peds. Those new mothers have some big ones," Alex said jokingly.

Lexie must have had a look of horror on her face because Alex stopped laughing. "Holy crap, you're nursing, aren't you?" Alex asked.

Lexie freaked. "Oh, my god, Alex. Please be quiet. I don't want anyone to know."

"Dude, you had a baby?" Alex couldn't wrap his head around Lexie having a kid.

"Yes. I actually had two babies." At this point, Lexie felt like crawling under the nearest piece of furniture and hiding.

"Shit, Lexie. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you. That's kind of ironic, though?"

"What is?" Lexie asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, you left Seattle to get away from Sloan's kids and you got knocked up in Boston by some other guy." Once again, what Lexie was thinking must have shown on her face or Alex knew her well enough. "Holy crap, they're Sloan's!" Alex exclaimed.

"Alex, I am begging you to be quiet. Please! That's why I'm here. To tell him. Please, please, please, be quiet. I saved your life! You owe me this!" Lexie pleaded jabbing her finger in his chest.

"Ok, ok, I promise. You got the crazy eyes thing going on right now. Calm down. I won't say anything, ok?" Alex said while grabbing her arms.

Lexie took a deep breath. "Thank you, Alex."

Just then, Meredith came around the corner and was about to speak when she saw Alex standing there.

"It's ok." Lexie said. "He figured it out."

"How?" Meredith said.

Alex replied, "Dude, it was the boobs. Lexie, you might want to put on your jacket before going to talk to Sloan. If I noticed your boobs, he's definitely going to."

* * *

Mark was standing at the nurses' station filling out a chart when Derek walked up to him.

"Hey, how was your 'surprise'?" Mark asked with a sly grin on his face.

Derek smirked. "Oh, it was a surprise, alright."

"Oh, yea? That good, huh?"

"Oh, it was something ." Derek laughed.

"Did Meredith make a decision on Boston?"

"No, we didn't get that far. We were occupied." Derek laughed.

Mark grinned at Derek. "Well, that should put you in a good mood for the day."

Derek didn't like lying to his best friend, but a small part of him couldn't help but laugh at how clueless Mark was at the moment. It must be the teasing brotherly instinct.

He picked up the charts for the day and turned to walk away. Over his shoulder, Derek said with a chuckle, "Yea, it will. You have a good day, Sloan."

* * *

Meredith had told Lexie that Mark would be in his office for at least the next hour. Jackson told her Mark's case load was light for the day and he was working on some research for a new technique for a facial reconstruction.

As Lexie walked down the hall toward Mark's office, the knot in her stomach kept getting bigger and bigger. _You can do this. You can do this! _She had been preparing herself for this moment for days. She had a speech prepared. She just hoped Mark didn't kill her before she was able to explain it to him.

Lexie stood outside his office door for what seems like hours, but was really only a matter of minutes. She took a deep breath and knocked. _There's no turning back now._

* * *

Mark had been staring at his research for twenty minutes now, but he couldn't concentrate on anything. He was still thinking about Julia's announcement that she wanted to have a baby with him. He had asked her if she wanted bacon and she told him she wanted a baby. He had to admit it stunned him at the moment. Men don't like to be blindsided about having babies. Usually it makes them run away. That's what the old Mark Sloan would have done. But, he wasn't the man whore anymore. Lexie had changed that.

_Lexie. Why are you thinking about Lexie when deciding to have a baby with Julia? _Mark Sloan was not a man who went back and forth on decisions. He made up his mind and reacted accordingly. He never had to second guess himself with Lexie. Everything just came so naturally with her from the very beginning. In the entire time they were together, he never asked Derek for advice on Lexie. Now, it seemed he was asking Derek's opinion every week regarding Julia. _Did Derek like her? Should they move in together? Should they have a baby?_

He didn't know why the decisions were harder with Julia. Everything about her made sense. She was closer to his age. They were at similar places in their careers. She liked Callie and Arizona. She loved Sofia and she loved him. She wanted to have his babies and he wanted siblings for Sofia. He had grown up an only child and he did not want that life for his daughter.

So, why couldn't he come to a decision? Because every time he made a decision to take the next step with Julia, Lexie's face flashed in his mind. _You have to forget Lexie. She didn't want your children so badly that she moved to the other side of the country. Julia's perfect. She wants what you want. Just make a damn decision._

He was still having an internal battle when there was a knock on the door. Mark welcomed the distraction. That was until Lexie Grey came walking into his office. If a wild bull had came flying through the door, he would not have been more stunned.

She just stood there staring at Mark. She could tell she startled him. He had stood up when she came in the door and was just standing there with his mouth open.

Lexie shut the door behind her and stepped toward the desk. "Hi," she said. It sounded lame and stupid even to her.

"Hi," said Mark, just as lamely.

They both stood there stupidly for a few moments not quite knowing what to say and just taking the other in. Mark couldn't get over how beautiful she looked. She was just wearing a jacket and a pair of jeans, but she still looked amazing. She had let her bangs grow back out and was wearing her hair wavy. He couldn't figure out what it was but they was something different about her, but in a good way. She seemed curvier and softer. It complemented her well and it hit Mark like a punch in the gut.

Lexie just stood there staring at the man she had thought of constantly for the past year. He had barely changed at all. Except for a little extra gray in his hair, he was still the same McSteamy she had fallen in love with. He filled out a pair of scrubs like no other man she ever met, his hair was perfect and he wore his beard with just the right amount of scruff. But, it was his eyes that got to her. Those intense blue eyes that she fell in love with. The eyes of her children. _Meredith's right. Everyone will know the moment they see Emma and Kayleigh. _

"What are you doing in Seattle?" said Mark in an attempt to break the silence.

"I had a few days off and I wanted to come say good-bye to everyone before they left for new job. Plus, I had a few…um…personal things to take care of yet." She stumbled over this part, but kept going. "I still have some things left at Meredith's that I wanted to pack up before they move. And, I wanted to officially meet Zola and see this dream house that is finally finished. And, I need to go see my dad and visit my mom's grave while I'm here." Lexie knew she was rambling. _Just stop. Tell him. It's won't make it any easier if you stall. It's like removing a band-aid. Quick and fast._

Mark smiled as Lexie talked. He always thought it was cute when she rambled.

"That's good. I'm glad you stop in to say hi. It's really good to see you again, Lex." Mark said still smiling.

_Oh, God, He called me Lex. Hold it together, Lexie Grey. If you turn into a puddle of mush in front of him, you'll never get this out._ Lexie knew she had to tell him now or she would never have the courage to say the words.

"Mark, I didn't just stop in your office to say hi. I actually need to talk to you about something. It's important. Actually, it's the real reason I came to Seattle. You should sit down," she said as she took on his sofa instead of the chair in front of his desk. She did not want to be too close to him when the truth finally came out.

"Ooookay," said Mark slowly sitting down. He didn't know what to make of her tone but he had a weird feeling he wasn't going to like it.

She took a deep breath and in typical Lexie Grey fashion, laid it out for him.

"I left Seattle a year ago and I did not plan on coming back for a really long time. I needed to get away from everything that had happened here. I wanted a fresh start. And, I thought I had one until July. And I should have told you then. There was no excuse for me not telling you then. But, by the time I was ready to tell you, fate kept screwing with my family and the timing was never right. And the longer I waited, the harder it got. And by the time fate was done screwing with my family, you already had a new life. So, I didn't tell you and I will regret that decision for the rest of my life. It makes me a horrible person and I am so sorry Mark for not telling you." By this point, Lexie was almost in tears. The entire time she was talking she had stared at his desk, but she finally raised her eyes to see Mark's confused face.

"Oooookaaay." Mark said again. He had no idea what she was talking about.

Keeping eye contact with him the whole time, she said in a calm, level voice, "I have two daughters. They are six months old. They were born on December 8, 2011. They are identical except the older twin has a small birth mark on her left leg. The older twin's name is Emma Rose and the younger twin is Kayleigh Susan. They have brown hair like me and they have the same blue eyes as you. They are your daughters, Mark."

Lexie couldn't read Mark's expression but she knew the silence she was receiving was not a good sign.

Finally, Mark spoke. His voice was quiet and emotionless, yet cut right to Lexie's core.

"How the hell could you not tell me?"

Mark was trying his best to keep his cool, but he was rapidly losing control after the bombshell she had just thrown on him. He had two daughters. Two daughters that had been alive to six months and that he knew nothing about. And, it wasn't the surprise that hurt, but the fact that the only woman he loved and longed for had given birth to his children and not told him.

"I said, how the _**hell**_ could you not tell me?" he asked again when Lexie sat there and said nothing.

"I wanted to, Mar-"

"Wanted to?" Mark screamed as he stood up and slammed his fist on his desk. Lexie visibily flinched but Mark didn't care. "Why don't you explain to me how you 'wanted' to but couldn't?"

"I didn't find out I was even pregnant until July and when I went for my sonogram and found out it was twins, I panicked! It wasn't until almost the end of August that I came to terms that I was going to be a mother and I tried to call you," she exclaimed while wringing her hands together. She knew Mark would be angry, but she was still shocked. She had seen Mark get mad, but never like this.

"You tried to call me? Do the phones not work in Boston?" Mark exclaimed, his words dripping with distain.

"On the day I decided to call you, I called Meredith first because I needed my sister. I needed my family. And that's was the day that they lost Zola. And, I couldn't tell her. She was already so upset. I couldn't tell my sister, the one who had a miscarriage saving her husband from a shooter, the one who almost lost her sight from fertility treatments, the one who finally got a child to have her taken away, that I, Lexie Grey, the woman who ran from Seattle because of babies, had accidentally gotten pregnant with TWO BABIES!" By this point, Lexie was standing up and waving her arms.

After this confession, part of Mark's anger died down a little bit, but not enough. "So, what about after they got Zola back?"

"When Mer called and told me Zola was back, I was so thrilled because that meant I could tell you. But, then she told me you had a girlfriend and you were happy. I told you to move on and you did. I didn't want to ruin that for you. I had been that woman. The woman who is so in love with the guy who is having a baby with someone else. I couldn't do that to someone else. So, I decided to do this on my own." Lexie hung her head in defeat and sat back down on the couch.

Mark, however, wasn't done. "You don't get to decide that! I have two children that I've never seen. I wasn't there for doctor's appointment and sonograms. I wasn't there when they were born. And, I wasn't there for the last six months as they were growing up! You know what I went through when Sofia was born. How could you not let me be part of that?"

He had been pacing the floor this whole time, but like Lexie, he felt defeated and sat back down.

"I'm sorry. I'm a horrible person, Mark. I should have called you the second I found out. I can never make that up to you, but I'm here now," she said.

"Why now?" Mark said. "What changed that you finally decided to tell me?"

"Meredith told me that you were planning on starting a family with Julia, so Sofia can have siblings. And, I knew you needed to know about Emma and Kayleigh because they are her sisters, too." On that note, Lexie stood up and pulled a manila envelope from her purse. She walked over to the desk and laid it in front of Mark.

"We're staying at Meredith's." And, she turned around and walked out of Mark's office.

* * *

Mark didn't know how long he sat there staring at the wall. He couldn't believe what just happened. Lexie had two daughters. His daughters! And, she kept them from him. He felt so betrayed by the one person he thought he could always trust. Lexie may have hurt him in the past by breaking up with him, but she had never deliberately hurt him.

That's when he remember the envelope she left on his desk. He opened it up and pulled out a stack of pictures. On the top of the pile was a picture of two smiling, toothless babies with bright blue eyes. He was shocked as he stared at the picture. Those were his eyes looking at him. He loved Sofia, but there was no denying that her looks all came from Callie. But, these babies looked just liked him.

He quickly began flipping through pictures. Lexie had included pictures from every stage over the past six months and every photo was carefully labeled on the back. She even had copies of the sonogram pictures where he could clearly see the outline of two heads, four legs and four arms. He started tearing up because he wasn't there to hear the double heartbeats.

Again, his anger toward Lexie started to build. _How could she keep them from me? _He just couldn't get over it.

But, when he got to the last two pictures, his heart stopped. These were the only two pictures with Lexie in them. One was of the day the babies were born. Lexie was lying in a hospital bed holding her newborn daughters and even though she looked completely exhausted, she had the biggest beautiful grin on her face.

The second picture was taken in front of Boston Harbor. It was winter because there was snow on the ground, but Lexie had her coat off. Her hair was blowing in the breeze and she was grinning at the camera. And her hands were on her hugely pregnant stomach. She had such a small frame that she looked like she might topple forward. Any other woman would have looked awkward, but Mark thought she had never looked more beautiful.

He continued to stare at that picture for several minutes before turning to his computer to send an email to Hunt telling him he needed to take a few days personal leave for a family emergency. He gathered up all the pictures putting them back in the envelope. All except for two. The pictures of the grinning toothless babies and the very pregnant Lexie he placed in his wallet before grabbing his keys and the envelope and heading to Meredith's.

* * *

*** Author's Note: I hoped you like this chapter. I worked really hard on it. Each chapter is getting longer and longer which takes longer to write. I'd rather make the chapters nice and long, so I will be posting about once a week. **

**Thank you for reading. Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Extra Baggage – Chapter 5**

*** Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews! Getting the reviews in my inbox is what is prompting me to write as much as possible. I am so happy that everyone liked chapter 4. I worked really hard to make sure everyone's reactions played out in character, but I also wanted it to be humorous. One of the things I love about GA is how they can mix the humor in with the drama. **

**To everyone asking for Julia to be gone, I hear you. I'm a diehard Slexie fan, so there is no way Julia is staying in the picture. But, it's going to take a few more chapters for her to go away. There will be plenty of Slexie before that though and some emotions to be dealt with and once that happens, buh-bye Julia. I'm not going to skate past the break-up. We are going to get a full-blown fight. ;)**

**Also, for this story, Lexie and Jackson never dated. They were only friends. The way they got together on the show made my skin crawl. She has only been with Mark since she broke up with Alex.**

* * *

The tears were running down her face as Lexie drove back to Meredith's house. Meredith and Derek had driven separately that morning, so she could have a car to drive. Meredith knew that Lexie would want to leave the hospital as soon as she told Mark.

Lexie had known the confrontation was not going to go well, but she had not prepared herself for the anger she received from Mark. During their tumultuous relationship, they had bickered occasionally, but they never really fought. She knew she hurt Mark and not telling him was wrong, but being screamed at by Mark hurt Lexie more than she ever thought it would.

She had thought by putting distance between her and Mark, she could finally move on. She figured a part of her would always love him, but she honestly thought she could build a life without him. After she got over the shock of being pregnant, she started to become excited about becoming a mother. Even though she had been scared to call Mark in August, part of her had been so happy because being pregnant meant Mark would always be in her life. But, then everything had gotten so messed up. Mark had moved on with someone else, so she told herself that she could move on too.

But, when she saw her daughters, she fell even more in love with Mark Sloan. She tried not to be in love with him, but it was impossible. Emma and Kayleigh looked so much like their daddy. Every time they smiled at her, she felt a tug at her heart.

It took Meredith telling her that Mark was going to start a family with another woman to finally open her eyes. All he had ever wanted since he met her was for them to be together and have a family. And, when he couldn't have that with her, he found someone else.

_You're so stupid! _She yelled to herself. _You are the mother of his children. You LOVE him. And now he hates you!_

* * *

Derek had just come out of surgery when he saw Mark storming down the hall. From the look in his eyes, Derek could tell Lexie had told Mark about Emma and Kayleigh.

Mark hadn't planned on talking to anyone before he left the hospital. The only thing he was thinking about was meeting his daughters and possibly wringing Lexie's neck. But, when he saw Derek, he changed gears.

Mark walked up to Derek and grabbed a handful of Derek's scrub shirt. "Did you know?" he growled. But, before Derek could answer, Mark said, "Of course, you fucking know! They are staying at your house!"

Derek pulled Mark's hand off his shirt. "Yea, I know they are. But, I didn't know, Mark. I swear! I would not have kept that a secret from you. I found out last night. That was my surprise."

"Did Meredith know?" Mark growled again.

"Yes, but she only found out a few days ago. Lexie promised her that she wouldn't say anything to anyone, including me, until she got to Seattle. Lexie wanted you to find out from her."

"Well, she fucking took care of that! She just waltzed into my office and told me I have two daughters!" In a mocking tone, he said, "Oh, hi Mark. Nice to see you. I came to visit all my friends, visit my dad, blah, blah, blah. And, by the way, you have two more kids. Here's some pictures. Bye!"

"Did she at least explain to you why she didn't tell you sooner?" Derek asked cautiously, as he already knew Lexie's reasons.

"Yea, she gave me some bullshit reasons, but from the look on your face, I can tell you already know them!" Mark accused.

Derek sighed. "She explained everything to us last night. I'm not saying I agree with her, but she didn't say anything to protect Meredith and you."

"Protect me?" Mark yelled. "How the hell is keeping me from my children protecting me?"

"She knew you were in a relationship, which you are, and that you were happy, which you are," Derek pointed out.

"I'm not happy now! I have two little girls who I've never met," Mark practically growled.

"Well, they are here in Seattle. You can meet them now," said Derek.

"Where the hell do you think I'm going?"

"Then, you need to calm down. You don't want your children's first impression of you to be a screaming maniac. And, as mad as you are at Lexie right now, she is their mother and you are going to have to be civil to her in front of Emma and Kayleigh. And, just remember, they are in my house. If you get mad, go outside to break something," Derek said jokingly.

Mark just gave Derek one more smoldering glare before continuing his storm out of the hospital. Derek looked around to see a bunch of nurses and residents staring at him. _Well, this will be all over the hospital by lunchtime, _he thought.

* * *

He had been driving around Seattle for the last hour trying to cool his temper and get control of his emotions. Mark knew Derek was right. He couldn't meet his daughters for the first time while he was angry. Despite everything between Mark and Lexie, his daughters were innocence in this mess.

For the longest time, Mark never thought he was going to be a father. He spent most of his adult life jumping from bed to bed, never committing to anything except his work. Until he met Lexie. She had made him realize he could have so much more in life. He had told her once she had put him back together and it was true. After she made him realize he was capable of being loved, he actually started imaging a future for himself. A future that included her. He wanted the whole package – house, marriage, babies. And he had wanted it with her.

But, like most things in his life, he managed to screw that up. He had barely convinced her to move in with him before Sloane showed up and sent things spirally out of control. He knew now that he had pushed Lexie too hard. He had tried to convince her to be a step-grandmother in her twenties. Mark knew if someone had asked them to do the same at twenty-five, he would have run for the hills as fast as he could.

So, it shouldn't have been a surprise that when she found out Callie was pregnant that she ran again. Looking back, he realized he did a pretty crappy job of breaking _that _news to her. They always got along great and could talk about almost anything, except really important issues. They did a fantastic job at screwing up the life changing conversations.

But, deep down, Mark always thought they would fix things. He had hoped she would come around and they could be a family together. But when Lexie left Seattle last year, she took a part of him with her and he shut himself off from relationships. She was the only woman he had ever loved and he knew a part of him always would.

He spent the first few months after Lexie left being the best parent he could. Lexie had broken his heart, but he had an infant daughter to raise and he had made Sofia his priority.

His childhood had been far from perfect. Mark's parents barely acknowledged his existence. He was just an inconvenience. Mrs. Shepherd was the only reason he had turned out somewhat normal. He had vowed to himself that he would always put his children's needs before his own. And, he had. For months. Until Callie convinced him that he needed to start dating again and have a life besides just being a parent.

He had just fallen into his relationship with Julia. He had met her during practices for the softball game against Seattle Presbyterian. He had just planned on having sex, but they had hit it off right away. Besides both being surgeons, they also had a lot of things in common. She was also closer to his age and wanted the same things from life that he did. He hadn't planned on getting into a serious relationship, but things just moved along easily for them. Julia was great with Sofia and Callie and Arizona loved her.

He knew things were moving along faster on Julia's end than on his. After only three months, she said that she loved him. Callie and Arizona had been all over him when he didn't reciprocate. But, he wanted to take things slowly. He had forced things on Lexie and he didn't want to make that mistake again.

Mark had been thinking about asking Julia to move in with him. He had been debating about asking her for some time when she said they should have a baby together. He hadn't given her an answer right away because something kept holding him back. He kept telling himself that the reason was Sofia. He wanted to make sure his life decisions were in the best interest of his daughter.

But, if he was honest with himself, he knew that Lexie was still in his mind. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he mentally compared her to Julia. It wasn't Julia's fault, but she always came in second to Lexie. Julia was perfect on paper; she wanted everything he wanted. But, she wasn't Lexie. He had tried repeatedly to convince himself that Julia was perfect for him and had actually been doing a pretty good job until Lexie had walked into his office.

His heart had skipped a beat when he saw her again and all thoughts of Julia left his mind. He didn't know what to make of her presence, but he was very happy to see her, until she told him the reason for her visit.

It was hard enough for him to process that Lexie was back in the city and deal with his feelings towards her without having to digest the bombshell she dropped in his lap. He should have known it would be inevitable that he would see her again at some point. Her sister and father lived in Seattle and she was his best friend's sister-in-law. They were going to cross paths again eventually. But, he never expected the babies! _Lexie had given birth to his children! _He could barely wrap his mind around it.

But, he knew that he needed to push his emotions towards Lexie aside for the moment and concentrate on his, no, _their _daughters. _Emma and Kayleigh. _He unconsciously touched his wallet in the pocket of his scrubs thinking about them. He suddenly couldn't wait to meet them and steered the car toward Meredith's.

* * *

Lexie didn't know how long she sat in the car crying and going over how many ways she had screwed up. But by the time she walked into the house, Lexie had composed herself. Over the last six months, she had experienced many emotional meltdowns, but she always was happy in front of her daughters. She never wanted them to share in her pain.

When she walked into the living, Emma and Kayleigh were sitting on a blanket on the floor playing with Zola and all three girls were laughing and smiling. It made Lexie happy that the cousins were getting along so well.

"How were they?" asked Lexie to the babysitter Lisa.

"Oh, they were great. They are so well behaved. The twins really keep each other occupied, don't they?" asked Lisa.

"Yes, they do," Lexie said smiling. Having two babies was difficult at times, but Emma and Kayleigh were great together. She could put them in their playpen together for hours and they would play happily. _More people should have twins_, she thought. _Built-in playmate._

"I know Meredith said you could leave when I got back, but would you mind putting Zola down for a nap first?" Lexie asked Lisa. She had watched Zola many times before and knew her routine. She worked part-time at the hospital daycare but did freelance babysit too. "I need to nurse the girls before I can put them down for their naps."

"Sure! No problem," Lisa replied. "Come on, Zo. Let's go take a nap. Say night-night to Emma and Kayleigh."

As Lisa walked out of the room, Zola waved over her should and said, "Ni-ni."

Lexie picked up both girls and sat down on the loveseat. She had become very skilled at being able to maneuver two babies at one time. She laid the girls on the cushion as she positioned a pillow over her lap and adjusted her shirt. Outside of the hospital, she only wore button-down shirts. They were the fastest way for her to access her nursing bra in public while still wearing a shirt. She was not ashamed of nursing, but because she needed both breasts and both arms to feed the twins, she had to take off most other shirts and just didn't like feeling half-naked in public.

A lot of the doctors at the hospital thought she was crazy for breastfeeding twins while being a resident. But, Lexie had done her research and found that it would actually be a much easier option. She always nursed the girls when she was at home and then pumped as much as she could. She tried to nurse the girls at least once during her shift and the rest of the time, they were bottle-fed her breast milk. It was a much healthier option for Emma and Kayleigh and a much, much cheaper option for Lexie.

Whenever she could, she tried to nurse both girls at the same time so one didn't get fussy while waiting to eat. Only at bedtime did she separately so she could have individual bonding with each daughter.

Lexie loved nursing her girls and always gave them her full attention. Her days got so busy sometimes, but she could always count on being with her girls during feeding time. She was so engrossed in Emma and Kayleigh that she didn't hear the key in the door.

Meredith and Derek had given Mark a spare key after they adopted Zola for when he babysat. Every couple weeks, they would take turns watching the others' daughter. Sofia and Zola got along really well and Mark and Derek loved the idea of their daughters being close friends.

So, Mark didn't even think to knock when he got to Meredith's. He pulled out his key and walked into the house. When he walked into the living room, his heart nearly stopped for the second time that day.

The sight of Lexie nursing his daughters blew him away. She hadn't noticed his presence yet and was smiling down at the babies. He just stood there in wonder. Mark couldn't get over how amazing she looked. Her head was tilted down so her hair was hanging in front of her shoulders dipping beneath the opening of her shirt. Looking at the opening of her shirt, he involuntarily swallowed. Now, he knew why she looked different to him. He had always thought Lexie's body was perfect and her breasts were perfect for her frame. But, pregnancy had been kind to her and he couldn't help but stare at the ample amount of cleavage before him.

But, it was the two little beings that Lexie was cradling in arms that almost brought him to his knees. He could only see the back of their heads but he could tell they were perfect. As he stood there watching his daughters suckling against his Lexie, he experienced a feeling a pure happiness that he had never felt before. He loved Sofia with every fiber of his being and he loved Sloane too, but these babies were his and Lexie's daughters. Everything he had ever wanted was right in front of him.

He must have made a noise because Lexie raised her head and looked right at him. She jumped a little when she saw Mark standing in the room with her. Lexie's first instinct was to cover up. She only ever nursed uncovered when she was alone. When other people were around, she would drape a blanket over her chest. She was embarrassed to have Mark seeing her half naked after so long and started to reach for the baby blanket sitting beside her until she saw the look on Mark's face.

He was staring at her with an expression she had never seen on his face before. He had tears running down his face and the raw emotion she saw in his eyes melted her heart. It was a mixture of wonderment, a hint of desire but most of all, deep and consuming love.

* * *

***Author's Note: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it seems liked such a **_**good **_**spot to stop. I promise first thing in chapter 6 Mark will officially meet Emma and Kayleigh.  
**

**I hope you enjoyed! Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Extra Baggage – Chapter 6**

***Author's Note: Once again, thank you for all the reviews. They are what motivate me to write. Sorry for the delay in the chapters. Summer was not the best time to pick up an indoor hobby. ;)**

**I apologize in advance if I write Callie too harsh, but I wrote her as I feel she comes across now. I liked her back in Season 5 and 6 when she was a good friend to M&L. But, after season 7, she just got bossy and controlling of Mark and his relationships and she seemed to not like Lexie. I think most Slexie fans will agree and this **_**is **_**a Slexie story.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Mark and Lexie didn't know how long they stared at one another. Neither one of them could move; they were too overwhelmed by the sight of the other. Mark couldn't tear his eyes from the beautiful sight in front of him and Lexie couldn't believe the way Mark was looking at her after so long.

They finally tore their gazes from each other when Emma started fussing. She was full and wanted to move.

"Ok, ok, baby girl," Lexie said. Kayleigh was still sucking away. Even though she was the younger and slightly smaller twin, she had a bigger appetite. Lexie shifted Emma around on her lap into a seated position in the crook of her arm and then propped her up in the corner of the loveseat.

As soon as she let go off Emma, she pulled her shirt closed, but not before she saw Mark checking her out. _Ugh, I haven't seen the man in a year and he's already seen me naked. _But, she inwardly smirked to herself because she knew that look on Mark's face. They may have had communications problems, but the one area they were always great at was in the bedroom. _Or shower, the on-call room, the couch in Mark's office and once in Mark's car parked outside Meredith's house. _Lexie could tell she was blushing and hoped Mark didn't notice. _Think of something else! Anything else! You are half dressed and you are holding your daughters._

Mark was having as much time keeping his composure as Lexie was. He was a doctor. He knew nursing was a perfectly natural thing. _She's feeding your daughters! Have some damn self-control. You came here to meet those babies, not ravish their mother. Besides, you are supposed to be mad at her for keeping them a secret. Compose yourself and meet your kids._

Luckily for both Mark and Lexie, Lisa chose that moment to come down the stairs. "Oh! Hello, Dr. Sloan," she said. Lisa knew Mark from seeing him dropping Sofia off at daycare. She also knew his reputation and she could sense the tension in the room.

"I'm going to head out, Dr. Grey. Zola is asleep and will probably stay that way for about two hours. Here's the baby monitor," Lisa said walking over to the loveseat and handing it to her.

"Thank you, Lisa. Do you need paid?" Lexie asked.

"No, Dr. Shepherd took care of it this morning. You and the girls have a good day together." Lisa grabbed her purse from the coat rack. "Bye, Dr. Sloan," she said with a knowing smile before heading out the door. Gossip ran rampant in the hospital even in the daycare and she knew of the past history between the two doctors. And, she _had_ spent the morning with Emma and Kayleigh. _Good luck, Dr. Grey, _she thought as she closed the front door behind here.

Mark had stood still through the entire interaction between Lisa and Lexie because he just didn't know what to say. He had come rushing over to Meredith's to meet his daughters and got caught up in wanting to ravish Lexie. But, now that the moment was here to meet his daughters, he was suddenly very nervous.

"Ummm," Mark stammered. "Can I help you with anything?" By this point, both girls were both done feeding and Lexie had a baby over each shoulder burping them. He was really impressed how she was handling two babies so easily. When Sofia first came home it took him weeks before he was completely comfortable taking care of her. Lexie just looked so natural.

"No. Thank you, though. We're fine like this. We do it all the time," she said with a small smile finally making eye contact with Mark again. "I'll be done in a minute. Would you like to hold them? Now that they ate, they are going to fall asleep pretty soon."

"Ye-yea, yea, I would like," Mark said taking a deep breath. Mark was good with women and great with Sofia, but he was incredibly afraid Emma and Kayleigh wouldn't like him. He didn't have the best track record when it came to Grey women.

Lexie shifted the babies of her shoulder. "Why don't you sit down on the couch?" she said motioning her head for him to sit down.

Mark took a seat on the sofa as Lexie picked up the girls and walked over to Mark. She had yet to button up her shirt, but she didn't care. The only thing she was focused on at the moment was that Emma and Kayleigh were finally going to meet their daddy.

Lexie was trying really hard to keep her emotions in check as she bent over Mark. "This is Emma Rose Grey," she said placing the little girl in Mark's left arm. "She's the oldest by exactly two minutes." She watched as Emma smiled up at Mark and he broke into a huge grin. She had never seen Mark smile that much and didn't think his smile could get any bigger. But, when she placed their other daughter in his right arm, she saw a smile that blew her away. He didn't tear his gaze from the second little girl as Lexie said, "This is Kayleigh Susan Grey." She brushed a hand over each baby's head and finally let the tears flow as she softly said, "Girls, this is your daddy."

* * *

Meredith, Alex and Cristina were eating lunch in the cafeteria when Jackson and April sat down with them.

"Mer, is it true that Lexie is back in town?" Jackson asked as soon as he sat down. He had been hearing the nurses and other doctors whispering for the past hour and he wanted to know what was going on. He had been friendly with Lexie since they lived in the same house for a few months, but they were nothing more than close acquaintances. He was more concerned about Mark.

Over the past year, they had developed a weird friendship, more like a bromance. Mark had taken a liking to Jackson and was turning him into his protégé. With Mark's help, he had passed the boards and now had three very good job offers to show for it. He was worried because Mark was happy now and he was worried how Mark would react to Lexie's presence. He remembered how wrecked Mark had been after she left. He had buried himself in being a parent and a good teacher, but the sadness was noticeable. It wasn't until Mark and Julia started dating that he started to return to his old self and Jackson was afraid Lexie may cause a setback.

Meredith sighed. She knew it wouldn't be long before the news was out. "Yea, she got back last night."

"Why was she in the hospital this morning?" Jackson asked, hoping Meredith would elaborate.

Alex kept his eyes firmly glued to his spaghetti and kept shoveling food into his mouth. He promised Lexie to keep quiet and he didn't want to get pulled into what was about to become an interrogation from the other residents.

Meredith chose her words carefully. She did not want to be the one to let Lexie's secret out. "She wanted to visit for old times' sake."

Jackson wasn't giving up. "Yea? Well, she didn't come to see any of us."

"Maybe she doesn't like you," Cristina chimed in sarcastically while eating her salad. Jackson just gave her a look.

April piped in as she always did. "Well, her presence has everyone talking. One nurse said she heard fighting coming from Dr. Sloan's office and then saw Lexie leave crying. And I overheard a few residents talking about Dr. Sloan yelling at Dr. Shepherd by the nurses' station."

Meredith didn't say anything, but she wasn't surprised to hear that Mark had confronted Derek. Before her next surgery, she would find her husband and he could tell her exactly what happened.

Cristina looked at April condescendingly. "Do you actually work as a doctor or spend all your time talking to nurses?"

"Hey, I'm the Chief Resident. Well, at least for a few more days I am," April said slightly flustered. She had been trying to keep a positive attitude after failing the boards and losing all her job offers. "The nurses like me and they tell me things. There are some crazy rumors floating around. Some are saying that Lexie came to beg for Dr. Sloan to take her back. The craziest one I heard was that Lexie was pregnant when she went to Boston and now has come to back for Dr. Sloan to meet his love child."

Jackson, April and Cristina both started laughing, but when Cristina realized that Meredith and Alex were avoiding eye contact she realized April wasn't completely full of crap.

"Oh, my God! Lexie was pregnant, wasn't she?" Cristina practically yelled. Jackson and April immediately stopped laughing and looked at Meredith.

Alex still refused to look up from his food. Meredith decided it was better to tell them the truth before the rumors got really out of control.

"Yes," she said, pausing to let the confirmation sink it.

Everyone, except Alex, starting asking questions at once. Meredith just sat there waiting for them to shut up.

Cristina voice broke through when she said, "Hey, Evil Spawn, you don't look surprised at all! What do you know?"

When Alex looked up from his spaghetti, he looked like a deer in the headlights. Meredith just held up her hand. "Do you want to hear the truth or not?" Jackson, April and Cristina nodded. "Leave Alex out of this then. The only reason he knows is because he ran into Lexie this morning on her way to talk to Mark."

"She told you before telling the father?" April asked confused.

Alex was getting sick of the questioning. "No, she didn't tell me. I guessed. I noticed her rack and made a comment that either she got a boob job or she was nursing. The look on her face told me anything and she promised me to keep my mouth shut. You want to know anything else, ask Mer or Lexie." With that, he picked up his tray and walked away.

All eyes turned back to Meredith. "Well?" Cristina prodded.

Meredith sighed again. "I didn't find out until I called Lexie last week to tell her about my boards. She freaked out when she heard that Julia wanted to have a baby with Mark." Jackson's eyes widened when he heard this. He knew Mark and Julia were becoming pretty serious, but he had no idea they were talking about kids yet.

"So, she told me how she didn't find out she was pregnant until she had been in Boston a few months. When, she went for her first sonogram, she found out she was having twins and freaked out. By the time she accepted the news, we had lost Zola and she didn't want to upset me more. She was going to tell Mark as soon as we got Zola back. But, you know how long that took. By the time Zola was home, Mark was with Julia and Lexie didn't want to disrupt his life. I don't agree with her secrecy but I understand why she kept quiet. But, she's here now and she has mine and Derek's full support."

The other residents just sat there in silence for a moment. Jackson was the first to speak. "You said twins?"

"Yes, in December, Lexie had two baby girls – Emma Rose and Kayleigh Susan," Meredith said smiling. She had only met them the day before, but she was in love with her nieces.

"Did Lexie go into labor early?" April asked.

"Yea, four weeks. Why?" Meredith asked.

"Umm, well, ummm, no reason. I was just trying to figure out, ummm, you know, when Lexie and uh, , uh, uh… You know," April said while turning bright red.

Cristina suddenly looked even more interested. "So, she was about eight months when she delivered. Eight months from December was….." Cristina's mouth dropped open. "Oh, my god! Callie's accident! Derek told Little Grey to keep an eye on Mark. She was with him the whole time. Callie was dying and Mark was getting laid!"

"Hey, hey!" Meredith exclaimed. "Don't judge! Everyone in this hospital has done some pretty inappropriate things. Some people deal with grief by crying or getting mad. Other people choose alcohol or sex. Back in my dark and twisty days, I chose both. The timing might not have been ideal, but the most important thing is two little girls came out of a sad situation."

Cristina started laughing. "What's so funny?" Meredith asked, glaring.

"Dr. McSteamy, former man-whore and womanizer, has FOUR daughters. Talk about karma!"

* * *

Arizona came running into the attendings' lounge. Callie looked up from her medical journal and took in Arizona's appearance. "Why are you out of breathe? Were you running?" Callie asked.

Arizona sucked in some air. "I was looking for you. Have you talked to Mark today?"

"No. Not since I dropped Sofia off at daycare. Why?"

Arizona just looked at Callie. She could tell she hadn't heard any of the rumors or she would be freaking out right now. "I heard a bunch of nurses talking. Lexie is in Seattle. More importantly, she was in the hospital this morning." When Callie didn't say anything, she said, "Specifically to see Mark."

"What?" Callie exclaimed. "Why would she come to see Mark after an entire year? Oh, my god. You don't think she found out about Julia and came to break them up?" she asked concerned. Arizona and Callie both really liked Julia. She was more age compatible with them and Mark. They were all at the same place in their lives. Julia was great with Sofia and she wanted to have a baby with Mark. Lexie, on the other hand, never wanted any of those things.

"Nooo, not exactly." Arizona took a deep breath. "The nurses overheard Mark fighting with Derek. When Lexie was in Boston, she had two babies. She came to the hospital to tell Mark that he was the father."

"What?" Callie yelled, jumping to her feet. "Are you sure? That's crazy. They broke up at the beginning of last year. If she was pregnant when she left, it would have been noticeable."

"Well, I heard it from a nurse I trust. She saw the whole fight. She said Lexie gave him some pictures and left. He got into a yelling match with Derek and then stormed out of the hospital."

Callie was already calling Mark before Arizona was done speaking. When it went straight to voicemail, Callie hung up and said, "Oh, I'm getting to the bottom of this."

* * *

Mark felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He had turned the sound off when he left the hospital because he knew Callie, Arizona and probably Owen would keep calling him. He would deal with it later. Right now, the only thing he cared about was the little girls in his arms.

He was amazed by how beautiful they were. They had Lexie's hair color and her smile, but the rest of them was pure Sloan. Their resemblance stunned him. They had his cheekbones and facial structure and those blue eyes. It was like staring into a mirror. He knew he was going to have to beat the boys off with a stick once they grew up.

Emma and Kayleigh just stared at Mark. It was if they recognized the bond between them. Every few minutes, one of them would give Mark a big smile and he couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his face. Kayleigh giggled when a tear drop on her cheek and Mark laughed.

He turned to look at Lexie and saw she had tears streaming down her face too. The sight of her crying over him holding their daughters melted whatever anger he felt towards her.

When Lexie saw Mark staring at her, she wiped her eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I've been so emotional since I got pregnant. And finally seeing you with them – "

He cut her off. "It's ok, Lex. I'm right there with you," he said softly. "They are perfect," he said smiling at her.

"Yes, they are," she whispered.

"We make pretty kids," he said laughing.

Lexie gave a soft laugh as her heart fluttered. "Yes, yes, we do." She suddenly had a serious look on her face. "Mark, I'm so sorry for not telling you…." She broke off as she saw Mark shaking his head.

"Not right now. This is a good moment, Lexie. We can talk later. For now, let's just sit here with our daughters." Mark shifted slightly and Lexie knew from experience that his arms had to be falling asleep.

"Ok, we can talk later. Why don't you let me hold one of them? They are started to fall asleep anyway."

Mark nodded. "Ok, which one?"

"Hand me, Emma. She's almost asleep," she said as she reached over and took her sleepy daughter into her arms. Emma gave small smile before cuddling into her mother's chest. "I try to give them even amounts of attention, but sometimes you just have to pick one," Lexie said.

"I can't believe how much they look alike," Mark said. "Don't you have trouble telling them apart?"

Lexie gave a soft laugh. "No, actually. I guess it's a mother's intuition, but I can tell who's who. I do dress them in different colors for the sake of others though. When they go to daycare, Emma wears pink, yellow or green and Kayleigh wears purple, orange or blue. I'm only doing that until they can talk though or they'll hate those colors."

"There is a trick though if you get them mixed up." She reached over and pulled Emma's pants down a bit to show Mark her thigh. "See," she said putting to the birthmark.

Mark smiled. "Well, that's good to know. A parent should know which kid he's talking to." Mark's eyes met Lexie's and they suddenly both got quiet. Neither knew quite what to say, so they both turned their heads back towards their daughters who were both quickly falling asleep.

Lexie was the first to speak. "We can take them upstairs, if you want. I have Zola's playpen set up in my bedroom."

"No, that's ok. I would rather keep holding her," Mark said.

"Ok, but they are going to sleep for about two hours," Lexie replied.

Mark nodded. "I think I can handle that."

So, Mark and Lexie sat together in the living room for the next few hours. After getting past some initial small talk over the weather and such, they fell into a rhythm. From the very beginning of their relationship, they had always spent hours talking, even on the first night when Lexie showed up at the Archfield and asked Mark to teach her. They both talked about their lives over the last year while carefully avoiding certain topics, namely Sofia/ Callie/Arizona, Julia, Lexie's secrecy with Mark or what the future held for them and their daughters.

Mark asked questions about Boston and Lexie told him about cases she had worked on over the last year, juggling the girls while working and funny things Emma and Kayleigh did. Mark filled Lexie in on the newest gossip around the hospital, the research he was working on and the newfound friendship he had with Jackson. Lexie laughed when Mark started talking about Jackson. She found it sweet and endearing that Mark had a new buddy.

Time past quickly for them and before they knew it, their daughters and Zola were started to wake up.

"Meredith and Derek will be home soon," Lexie said. "Ishould really go check on Zola. And, I have some diapers to change."

Mark stood up. "Let me help you." At first Lexie started to refuse and then stopped herself. _You have to get used to someone helping. He's their father. _

"Ok. Let's go up to Zola's room. There is a changing table and diaper bin. It's makes juggling babies much easier."

Mark smiled. He could tell that Lexie almost told him she didn't need help. It wasn't surprising. She was always very independent and after spending the last six months raising the girls alone wouldn't expect, or want, help. He knew he was going to have to tread carefully or risk scaring her away. He wasn't going to let that happen this time. He had too much to lose.

"Sounds good. After you," he pointed to the stairs. Lexie started up the stairs carrying Emma and as Mark followed behind, Mark didn't stop himself from checking out Lexie's ass. _Some things never change, _he thought with a smirk.

* * *

When Meredith and Derek got home, they came into the house very cautiously. After lunch, Meredith had finally tracked Derek down and grilled him on his "fight" with Mark. She was thankful punches hadn't been thrown because she remembered their last fight regarding Lexie.

They expected to be finding a very tense stand-off between the two parents or a sobbing Lexie. The scene they found was actually much more surprising. When Meredith and Derek walked into the living room, they were stunned. Mark and Lexie were sitting on the floor playing with Emma, Kayleigh and Zola. Anyone walking into their house at that moment would have thought they were a perfectly normal family and that Lexie and Mark were a happily, married couple.

Lexie was the first to look up with Meredith and Derek came in. She almost laughed out loud but restrained herself when she saw the stunned look on their faces. _Yea, it's going much better than I thought it would too. _All afternoon, Lexie had been trying to keep her hopes in check. Things with Mark had been so easy. He was fantastic with Emma and Kayleigh and they both loved him. It wasn't a big surprise. Mark could always charm the ladies. But, the three of them acted like they had always known each other. They actually seemed like a family. But, Lexie knew her and Mark had some major things to discuss. And, she knew how their serious discussions always ended. So, she was basking in the happy moment in front of her.

"Hi, guys," she said to Meredith and Derek. "Look, Zola, Mommy and Daddy were home." When Zola realized her parents were in the room, she quickly ran over and wrapped herself around their legs. Both Mark and Lexie smiled picturing Emma and Kayleigh doing that once they learned to walk.

Derek was the first one to make a move to Mark and Lexie. "I see you are having a nice time," he said more toward Mark than anyone. Mark just gave Derek a look.

"Yes, we are," Lexie said catching the look Derek gave Mark.

Meredith carried Zola over and sat on the couch beside to Derek. "I have to give it to you," she said to Mark and Lexie with a laugh. When they both looked confused, she continued. "In less than an hour, the two of you were the talk of Seattle Grace Mercy West. I sat down for lunch and got an interrogation from Cristina, Jackson and April. And poor Alex. He spent the rest of the day avoiding the three of them."

"Poor Alex?" Mark asked. "What's he got to do with anything?"

Lexie blushed. "Uh, I ran into him this person. He figured it out."

"What?" Mark exclaimed. "How?"

She blushed even more. "Ummm, well, he uh. Well, he noticed…." she stammered gesturing to her chest.

Mark looked outraged. "Alex Karev was checking you out?" Even though he and Lexie weren't a couple, the idea of Karev looking at her that way made him want to punch in his face. Alex had come between them once and Mark had eventually moved past it. But, the idea of him moving in again made his blood boil.

"No!" Lexie cried. "He thought I had plastic surgery. And, when I told him I didn't, he laughed and said then I was must be nursing and my face gives away everything. He just figured it out. Trust me! I wouldn't tell Alex before telling you."

Mark calmed down a bit after hearing Lexie's explanation but he made a mental note to find a way to torture Alex when he went back to work.

Watching the exchange between Mark and Lexie, Derek could hardly keep from laughing. Despite Mark claiming he wanted to start a family with Julia, he could clearly see that Mark still thought of Lexie as his.

"How did they find out, if Alex didn't say anything?" Lexie asked Meredith once she realized Mark didn't seem upset anymore.

Derek couldn't keep it in anymore and burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" asked Lexie completely confused as Mark just glared at Derek.

"Mark here inadvertently told the whole surgical floor by screaming at me at the nurses' station," Derek said still laughing.

Lexie's jaw dropped open and she started at Mark. He sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and gave Lexie's his signature smile. "I wanted to find out who else was keeping secrets from me," he said.

"I would never ask your best friend to lie to you!" she exclaimed.

When Derek realized he had hit a sore point, he quickly intervened. "Hey, let's talk about this _later,_" he said motioning toward the children. "Why don't we get some dinner?" When Mark and Lexie both looked like they agreed, he nodded. "Good, we'll spare you both and get take-out," he said smiling at Meredith. At this, Mark and Lexie both started laughing.

* * *

Dinner passed by pleasantly. Meredith ordered in take-out from Lexie's favorite Chinese restaurant in Seattle at Lexie's request that she couldn't find a place in Boston she liked.

Meredith and Derek were very amused watching Lexie and Mark throughout dinner. Despite Mark still being in a relationship with another woman, he completely acted like he and Lexie were never apart. He made sure she got her favorite foods and helped give Emma and Kayleigh their bottles. They both chatted easily and made jokes with each other. Meredith and Derek gave each other knowing looks and both wondered how long it would take her sister and his friend to come to their senses this time.

After dinner, Meredith and Derek made themselves scarce claiming they were going to give Zola a bath. Mark and Lexie continued to play with the girls in the living room until Emma and Kayleigh started to get tired.

Watching her daughters' rubbing their eyes, Lexie reluctantly said "I should really put them to bed. The time change has their sleep schedule all messed up." She could tell how much Mark was enjoying spending time with them and felt so guilty for denying him his children for all these months.

Seeing the disappointment in Mark's eyes, Lexie quickly added, "Would you like to help?"

Mark didn't hesitate. "Yes," he said hoping he didn't sound too anxious. He knew they needed sleep, but he didn't want this day to be over. That morning he had been thinking about starting a family with Julia and now he had this amazing family with Lexie.

They both stood up cradling a daughter to their chest and headed up the stairs. When they reached the top of the stairs, Lexie motioned her head toward the room she was using. "We're staying in here since the attic is empty."

She walked into the room with Mark close behind her. She was staying in Izzie's old room because it was the biggest spare bedroom and there was room to put up the playpen which was serving as Emma's and Kayleigh's crib. But, at that moment, Lexie felt claustrophobic being enclosed in a bedroom with Mark Sloan.

Lexie laid Kayleigh in the center of the bed and walked over to a suitcase to pull out their night clothes. Mark sat down on the bed and laid Emma beside her sister. When Lexie turned around and saw Mark sitting on the bed, she got all giddy. _Calm down! What is wrong with you? Your daughters are five feet away. Stop thinking about their father and a bed in the same thought. _

She nervously walked toward the bed and handed Mark a pair of pajamas and a diaper. "You take Emma, I'll take Kayleigh, ok?" she asked. Mark nodded taking the items from Lexie and turning toward her other daughter. They changed and dressed the girls in silence both feeling the tension in the room. Emma and Kayleigh must have been aware too because they did not make one noise as they were changed.

In the few short minutes it took to get the girls changed, they were both starting to fall asleep. "I normally rock them to sleep," Lexie said. "I splurged and bought an antique rocking chair before they were born. Bedtime is the one time of day I know I get to spend time with them and we usually rock for about a half hour before they finally fall asleep," she said with a smile. "But, they had such a busy day. I think they are going to fall right asleep."

So, Mark and Lexie placed each baby in the playpen making sure they were tucked in nicely. They stood there for a few minutes just watching their daughters drift off. Once Lexie knew they were out, she turned on the baby monitor and they left the room.

Once they got back downstairs, Lexie wasn't sure what to say. Luckily, Mark stepped in. Spending the day with his children, and Lexie, had been wonderful and he didn't want it to end. Despite not talking about it, he knew Lexie would be going back to Boston in a few days and he wanted to spend as much time with them and figure things out before they left.

"Lex, today was wonderful." When Lexie's smile went wide, he continued. "I want to spend as much time with the girls. And you. I took some time off of work. Let's take the girls around Seattle tomorrow."

Lexie's heart was in her throat. "Ok," she barely managed to say. "That sounds really nice. But, we have to talk…"

Mark cut her off. "Yes, we do need to talk. But, later. I want to get to know my daughters some more. Let's have a nice day together as a family and then we will go from there, ok?" She simply nodded, too happy to say anything. "Great! How about I come over at 9am? I'll bring breakfast and help you get the girls ready."

Lexie couldn't stop smiling. "That sounds wonderful, Mark."

"Great!" he said again. "Ok, well…. Good night, then," he said. They were standing so close by this point. Lexie thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest. Every fiber in Mark's body was screaming for him to kiss her, but he knew that was a bad idea. He had other things to deal with first. So, he settled for giving her a hug instead.

The minute he wrapped his arms around Lexie, he felt something inside of him that he had thought was long gone. The joy he got out of a simple hug overwhelmed him.

Lexie felt the same way. She couldn't help but be disappointed that Mark didn't kiss her, but when he pulled her into a hug, she almost started weeping. She didn't know how she went for so long without feeling his arms around her.

They stayed embraced for longer than two people not involved with each other should. When they pulled away from each other, the desire and longing was evident on the other's face.

Mark knew he had to go home now or he wouldn't be able to control himself. "Good night, Lexie. I'll see you in the morning," he said in a hoarse voice and quickly turned and walked out the front door leaving a stunned Lexie standing in Meredith's foyer.

When he got into his car, he put his head on the steering wheel trying to compose himself and forcing himself from running back into the house and dragging Lexie upstairs.

The vibrating coming from his pocket finally brought him back to reality. He had been ignoring the phone all day. When he looked at the display, he saw 15 missed calls and 4 voicemails. He quickly listened to the voicemails – one from Owen demanding to know why the head of Plastics just disappeared, two messages from Callie wanting to know what the hell was going on and finally one from Julia telling him how much she missed him and Sofia and couldn't wait to see them in three days.

He just turned the phone off and threw it on the seat. He would deal with that mess later.

* * *

***Author's Note: Hope you liked the chapter. Sorry for any typos or grammar errors. I really wanted to finish this chapter tonight and it's late and I'm tired. **

**I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be up. It's a very important one and I want to take my time writing the "fight" scenes. **_***Evil grin***_** In Chapter 7, we will have the confrontation between Mark and Calzona and the break-up of Mark and Julia! **

**Please review! I love hearing what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Extra Baggage – Chapter 7**

*** Author' Note: I am thrilled and humbled that Chapter 6 got 27**** reviews and this story now has over 100 reviews and follows! I never imagined when I started writing this story that it would be so well received. This chapter is dedicated to all of my fellow Slexie lovers. I think some of my personal frustrations with SR and the writers come through in this chapter. Mark **_**finally **_**stands up to Callie!**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Mark couldn't stop smiling as he walked toward his apartment. When he woke up that morning he had been trying to convince himself that he was in the right place in his life and was making all the right decisions. But, he knew now that he was only fooling himself.

At the exact moment he was talking himself into having a baby with Julia, Lexie Grey had come flying back into his life and completely changed the future he had been planning. The worst day of his life had created two little miracles. Two beautiful little baby girls that he and Lexie made. Just the thought that he and Lexie had children together made his heart want to burst with happiness. The biggest obstacle in their relationship had been that Lexie wasn't ready for children. Now, some twist of fate had made her the mother of his children. And, the best part was that she seemed completely happy with everything.

Mark knew he had to play his cards carefully. He tended to rush things when it came to Lexie and he had to make sure that everything went perfectly this time. He wasn't going to risk losing her for a third time. He had some obstacles of his own to handle before he could start making plans with Lexie and he knew they had to sit down without the girls and discuss some serious things.

But, for now, he was focusing on spending the day with Lexie and their daughters. He thought they could all go do some sightseeing. He never really got to see Seattle even though he lived here for years now and he knew Lexie would want to visit the city she hadn't seen for over a year. He was going to go to bed early so he could get up early and take breakfast to Lexie and help get his daughters ready for the first time.

But, as he put his key in the door to his apartment he heard the door behind him swing open and one of his biggest obstacles yelled "Where the hell have you been?"

* * *

Lexie climbed the steps to the guest bedroom in a haze. She knew she had a dopey smile on her face but she didn't care. Mark finally knew about his daughters and he seemed genuinely happy. The girls seemed to fall in love with him and she couldn't blame them. Mark Sloan was a very hard man to resist.

But, it was the scene in the hallway that had Lexie practically floating on air. She expected Mark to scream and yell at her, but all day long he kept looking at her like he was still in love with her. She kept telling herself that she was imagining things. After a year, Mark should have long moved on. Lexie certainly had planned to do the same. But, once she found out she was pregnant and once her daughters were born, she stopped trying to fool herself. Emma and Kayleigh were Mark's mini-clones. There was no way she could deny it with those little blue eyes staring at her every day. She was still head over heels in love with Mark. She had never stopped loving him and she was foolish to think she ever could.

She tried to be as happy as she could be for her daughters, but part of her always missed Mark. And, seeing him today just made everything so much clearer for her. Watching Mark hold their daughters practically brought Lexie to her knees. She fought him for so long on the baby issue, yet seeing him with Emma and Kayleigh was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

Lexie knew that Mark would love his daughters, but she never expected his feelings toward her. She knew Mark better than almost anyone in her life and she could read his expressions. He had been furious with her in the hospital, but as soon as he walked into Meredith's living room everything had changed. When he had watched her nursing the girls, the look on his face made Lexie's stomach flutter. And, just now in the hallway, she knew he wanted to kiss her.

As she walked into the bedroom, she checked to make sure the girls were fast asleep before quickly changing and crawling under the covers. As she lay in the dark, she couldn't help wishing that Mark _had _kissed her. Instead she felt like a horny teenager. It had been well over a year since she last had sex and that had just been the one time with Mark in the on-call room.

In the last two years, Lexie's sex life had been on hold except during their brief reconciliation. After being apart for almost a year, they had gone at it like rabbits almost any place they could. Mark had joked that they were going to wear out the springs in his bed. Just thinking about it caused Lexie to let out a moan.

She quickly rolled over in the pillow. The last thing she wanted to do was wake up the babies. _Control yourself, Lexie Grey_. _You are spending the entire day with the man and you have to think about something other than ripping off his clothes. _

So, she started thinking about the different places they could take Emma and Kayleigh. But, when she drifted off to sleep, she had a huge smile on her face.

* * *

Mark just leaned his head against the door. He really didn't want to deal with this right now. He stayed that way for a few seconds when he heard "I _SAID, _where the hell were you, Mark?"

He sighed and turned around to see a very annoyed Latina woman glaring at him. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing you know the answer," he said in a short, clipped tone.

At that, Callie Torres straightened up and put her hands on her hips. "I can guess," she said in a judgmental tone.

Mark just sighed again. "Do we really need to talk about this right now, Callie? It's 11pm. I'm tired. Let's talk… later," he said. He didn't want to promise her tomorrow because he was planning on spending every second with Lexie and his daughters.

"Oh, no, no, no! We are going to talk _right _now, Mark Sloan!" Callie said waving her hand. "First of all, how could you go all day without answering your phone or call me back? What if something had been wrong with Sofia?"

"Because I had _stuff_ to deal with. And, if something had been wrong with Sofia, you would have paged me. Or called Derek or Meredith. I'm sure you know I was at their house," he said trying to keep his voice even. He didn't know why, but he was really annoyed with Callie at the moment. He just had a great day and now here she was being all dramatic and apparently looking for a fight.

"Well, you should have called me!" Callie retorted.

"Called you? Since when do I have to answer to you? I'm not married to you. The last time I checked, _you _were married to Arizona."

Callie stood there with her mouth opened. She wasn't used to Mark standing up to her. Every since Sofia had been born, she had the upper hand in their "relationship" and she liked it that way.

Not knowing how to reply to Mark's comment, she snapped, "Well, is it true? Every damn nurse and doctor was gossiping about you today."

"Depends on what you heard," Mark said in a calmer voice.

"Arizona told me that Lexie showed up at the hospital today and told you that you have a kid with her."

"That's partly true," he said.

Callie's eyes went wide. "Which part? The fact that Lexie was in the hospital or that she had your kid?"

"Both, kinda." Seeing the confusion in her eyes, he took the picture of the girls from his wallet and handed it to Callie. She took the pictures from Mark's hands and her jaw dropped.

"T…t….two?" she looked up in disbelief. "She….you…. have twins?"

Mark smiled. Just the thought of having babies with Lexie made his heart skip a beat despite the tense situation with Callie. "Yes, that's Emma Rose and Kayleigh Susan," he said putting to the picture.

She looked down at the picture again. As much as she wanted to deny it, there was no mistaking the resemblance between the little girls in the picture and Mark. Even if the facial features weren't so similar, there was no denying the eyes. Mark Sloan's eyes were staring up at her from the picture.

She swallowed and looked up at Mark. "How old are they?"

"Six months."

She quickly did the math in her head. "That's impossible, Mark. They have to be older."

"No," he said shaking his head. "They were born December eighth…." he said drifting off as he realized what would be coming next.

"You guys broke up when I told you about Sofia. My first sonogram with you was in the beginning of February. You broke up with her then. December is ten months later. There is no way she went late with twins. Ok, I see the resemblance Mark, but they are babies. That could be just a coincide- ," she stopped talking when she saw the rage in Mark's eyes.

"They _are_ my daughters!" he practically growled through clenched teeth. "They were born four weeks early on December 8. Those babies are my kids and don't you even question it again!"

Callie was shocked by how mad Mark was. She should have known though. He was furious when she told him he could be Sofia's cool uncle. "Ok, ok," she said holding up her hand. "They were born in December, so that means….." she said drifting off. Mark straightened up when he heard the tone in her voice.

"Eight months before December was March! Did you guys hook up before Sofia was born?" she asked confused. She thought back to those months before her pregnancy. She remembered Lexie being so mad at Mark and barely talking to him. The only time she had seen Mark and Lexie talking was at her baby shower. She remembered because Mark had been texting her on the way to the B&B hopeful that maybe he and Lexie could start working things out since she made the first step by attending the shower. And right after that…..

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "You had sex with her at the hospital!" When she saw the look on Mark's face, she knew she was right.

"I almost died. Sofia almost died. And you were fucking Lexie?" she practically screamed.

"Keep your damn voice down," he said pointing to her apartment. "Sofia's sleeping."

"Oooohhh! _Now _you care about Sofia," Callie said sarcastically.

"Of course I fucking care about Sofia!" he growled. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door pushing Callie inside.

As soon as the door was shut, Callie went off again. "You selfish ass! How could you be having sex while I was fighting for my life?"

"Selfish?" Mark roared. "I'm the selfish one? I fucking gave up everything for you and Sofia! From the time you told me you were pregnant, I put your needs first. I changed my surgical schedule. I made you dinners. I threw you a baby shower. And most importantly, I lost Lexie because of you!" He was shocked by the last part. He hadn't realized that he secretly blamed Callie for making Lexie run the second time.

Callie looked furious. She approached him wagging her hands and starting yelling at him in Spanish.

"English!" he screamed. "I am learning Spanish for Sofia but I can't keep up with crazy Latina at the moment."

"Fine! You don't get to blame me for Lexie leaving. She was the one who walked out on you. She never even gave Sofia a chance. And then she moved across the country while she was pregnant with your kids!"

"Don't get me wrong. I love Sofia with all my heart, but it takes more than one person to make a baby. If you hadn't fucked me to get over Arizona leaving, Lexie never would have broke up with me a second time!"

"You offered!" she yelled.

"I know!" he screamed. "But, you still played a part in her leaving."

"Fine," she said. "But, that doesn't give you an excuse to go fucking her while I was half dead."

"Yea, because when you came out of the ambulance with your head cracked open, my first thought was 'Let me drag Lexie into the first on-call room I can find." Mark just glared at her. "You almost fucking died! And, I didn't know how to deal with it. She knows me! She stayed with me until you woke up. I bet you never knew that, did you?" Callie just shook her head. She had never really thought about how her accident affected Mark.

"Well, she did. She sat with me while I cried over _you _and our daughter. And, yes, during that time, I slept with Lexie. But, it wasn't some vile, dirty thing that you are making it out to be. She was comforting me the best way she knew how and I let her. And you know what? I am not going to apologize for that. It doesn't make me selfish. It makes me human. And, because of it, I have two beautiful little girls."

Thinking about Emma and Kayleigh calmed Mark down and Callie could notice the change in him almost immediately.

"You love them, already?" Callie asked.

"Yea. Callie, they are amazing. Even though they are only six months, they are so smart. And they are so beautiful. They look just like me, but they have Lexie's smile," he said with a big grin on his face.

Callie tried to ignore the jealously as Mark describe the two little girls to her, but when he mentioned Lexie's name, she got pissed again.

"Mark, don't go there."

"What?" he asked. "Go where?"

"Lexie. You guys are toxic for each other. That ship sailed. And sunk," she said half laughing.

Mark's eyes went dark and he took a menacing step toward Callie. "Shut. Up."

Callie was shocked. "But, Mark.."

"I said shut up! You don't get to talk about her like that. She's the mother of my children!"

"I'm the mother of your daughter, too!" she cried.

"Yea, well I love her!" he yelled and then stood there dumbfounded. He hadn't even admitted it to himself, but he couldn't deny it. He was still madly in love with Lexie Grey.

"Mark, be reasonable. I know you care about her. But, she left you. Twice! And, she gave birth to your children and didn't tell you for six months. How can you love her?"

Mark just stood there staring at Callie. She was supposed to be his best friend and yet she didn't see it. How could someone who was supposed to know everything about him not recognize he had always been in love with Lexie.

"Her leaving was as much fault as mine. I tried to force things on her she wasn't ready for. Hell, I tried to make her become a grandma at twenty-five. And, then when I finally fixed things with her, my bisexual ex-sex friend ends up pregnant. No wonder she ran." Mark sighed running his hands through his hair. "And she had her reasons for not telling me. That's still something I have to work through with her. But, yes, I love her. I love my daughters. And, I'm going to figure out a way to make things work with her this time. And, as Sofia's mother and my supposed best friend, I'd like you to be on board."

And on that note, he opened the door and motioned for her to walk out. "It's after midnight and I have big plans tomorrow. Good night, Dr. Torres." And shut the door on a very stunned and, for once, speechless Callie Torres.

* * *

As Mark lay in bed, he looked at the pictures of his daughters and pregnant Lexie that he had propped on his night stand. He wanted their faces to be what he saw before he went to sleep and when he first woke up. He fell asleep with a big smile on his face, not realizing that during his fight with Callie the subject up his girlfriend never came up once.

* * *

***Author's Note: I know this chapter was shorter than normal, but I had to split it into two parts or it would have been crazy long. The next chapter will be Mark's and Lexie's day together with their daughters and the end of the Mark/Julia relationship. I **_**PROMISE**_**!**

**I am going to try very hard to get the next chapter up by next week because then I leave for vacation. If it's not up by then, it will be a few more weeks before I can update. I will try really, really hard to get it done before I go. :)  
**

**Please review! I very much appreciate hearing your thoughts.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Extra Baggage – Chapter 8**

***Author's Note: I am so sorry for the big delay with this update. I know it's been a month since the last chapter. First, I was getting ready for vacation and then I was gone a week. And, when I got home, I planned on writing and ending up having to go buy a new car during the same week I was hosting a bridal shower. So, it's been a bit hectic just finding time to write.**

**And, when I first started writing this chapter, I was suffering from a bit of writer's block. I've been watching lots of GA clips of Mark and Lexie trying to get the juices flowing. Hearing the Eric Dane was leaving the show also took away some of my interest in this story for a bit. I still can't believe that I'm rooting for one of my favorite characters to die. Damn you, Shonda!**

**The first seven chapters flowed so easy, but the beginning of this chapter was a struggle to write. The second half practically wrote itself though, especially the break-up scene. I can guarantee by the end of this chapter, Julia is history! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next morning, Mark woke up bright and early in an excellent mood. He barely gave the conversation with Callie a second thought. His first priority was getting to know his daughters and work on winning over their mother.

He took his time showering and getting ready. Mark Sloan was not one to put much thought into his wardrobe. Of course, he owned nice clothes being a plastic surgeon. But, he knew women found him desirable no matter what he wore. He was able to pick up women whether he was wearing an Armani suit or sweaty running clothes.

This morning though, he changed his shirt three times, picked a pair of jeans he knew showed his best side and spent extra time grooming his hair and his beard.

* * *

At the Grey-Shepherd house, Lexie was already up and in the bathroom before Emma and Kayleigh stirred. Usually, she was content with throwing her hair into a messing bun and a little powder before the girls started to stir. However, today she was going all out. She spent time shaving her legs, plucking her eyebrows and meticulously putting on her makeup.

When she walked back into the bedroom, Kayleigh and Emma were still sleeping. Usually, the girls woke her up but the time change and staying up late the night before had their sleep schedules thrown off. She took the quiet time to carefully select her outfit. She hadn't packed much because of everything she needed for the girls. But, she selected a pair of jeans that hugged her curves and a light airy shirt that molded her ample shape. She turned sideways and looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit she looked pretty good for a woman who had given birth to twins only six months ago.

She decided to let the girls get some more sleep since they would have a busy day. She grabbed the baby monitor and headed down the steps. She came around the corner just as Mark was walking up to the front door. Lexie couldn't stop the flutters she felt in her stomach when she saw Mark standing there in his black leather jacket. Even after all these years, he could still take her breath away.

Mark was juggling the bags of food and coffee when he first came up the walkway. It wasn't until he raised his hand to knock on the door that he noticed Lexie staring at him. Well, ogling him was a better term. When they made eye contact, he gave Lexie his signature smile and chuckled when he saw her cheeks go red.

They both stood there for a few moments before he finally said, "Are you going to let me in?" as he held up the food.

Lexie quickly open the door. "I, um, sorry. I was, uh, distracted. Here, let me help you," she stammered out. She took the coffee from his hand and shut the door behind him, the entire time carefully avoiding eye contact.

Mark just kept smiling. He always loved Lexie's nervous babbling. It was one of the things that he loved most about her. He watched her stand there fumbling with the coffee and the baby monitor as she looked anywhere but at him. So, he took the opportunity to get a good look at Lexie and almost wished he hadn't.

Mark had always found Lexie incredibly attractive, but now that she had children, he found her even more attractive. The jeans she was wearing hugged her curves showing off her hips. They were slightly wider than they used to be, but in a good way. Mark wished he had got a glimpse of her backside. Lexie's ass had always been Mark's favorite. He always like having sex with her bent over so he could admire her ass. Just thinking about it almost caused Mark to groan out loud. He quickly drew his eyes upward hoping to clear his mind and quickly wished he hadn't.

Lexie was wearing a flowing top that would have been modest on anyone else except for a nursing mother. The shirt pulled tight across her breasts and dipped into a V showing just enough of her ample cleavage to drive Mark crazy. He quickly looked down at the bag of food in his hand and quickly tried to switch his train of thought before the hardening in his pants became noticeable.

They just stood there for a minute or so, not saying anything, before Mark finally said, "How about we go into the kitchen?"

Lexie looked up to see Mark smirking at her. "Oh, yea. The kitchen. Uh, good idea," she said before quickly turning and heading into the kitchen.

But, as they walked to the kitchen, Mark couldn't help but stare at Lexie's backside swaying side to side in front of him.

* * *

Meredith and Derek were sitting at the kitchen table feeding Zola when Lexie and Mark came walking in. They both noticed the blush on Lexie's face and the look in Mark's eye. Meredith and Derek gave each other a knowing look.

"Good morning," Derek said with a chuckle in his voice. "You are both looking very nice this morning."

Mark just glared at Derek, which only caused Derek's smile to widen.

"Oh, uh, thanks", said Lexie nervously as she sat the coffee on the table. "Mark brought breakfast."

Meredith could sense Lexie's discomfort and took pity on her sister. "Are the girls still sleeping?" she asked noticing the baby monitor in her hand.

"Yes," Lexie said, happy to change the subject. "They were really tired last night. I want to wait until they wake up on their own or they will be cranky because of the time change."

"Well, sit down and let's eat the breakfast Mark brought," Derek said after seeing the glare his wife was giving him.

The four adults enjoyed the breakfast sandwiches, pastries and coffees Mark had picked up while making small talk, as Zola pushed Cheerios around on her high chair tray. They were just finishing eating when they heard the babies start to stir through the monitor.

Meredith waved Lexie's hand away when she tried to clean up. "I got this," she said. "You go take care of the girls."

"Ok, thanks," she said smiling. Lexie stood up and looked over at Mark. "Do you want to help me get Emma and Kayleigh ready?" she asked.

"Yea," Mark said jumping up. They both stood there awkwardly for a moment before Mark motioned toward the doorway and said "After you."

Lexie smiled shyly and walked through the doorway as Mark quickly followed, once again admiring her ass.

After they left, Derek and Meredith just looked at each other and shared a knowing smile before turning their attention to Zola.

* * *

By the time Mark and Lexie got upstairs, Emma and Kayleigh were fully awake. When they saw their mommy walk into the room, they both squealed.

"Good morning to you too," Lexie said laughing walking over to the playpen.

"Are they always this happy in the mornings?" Mark asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Yes, they are. I've been blessed," she said, bending over and picking both girls up.

Mark just looked at her in amazement. "I can't get over how easily you handle two babies at once," he said.

Lexie just laughed. "I learned very quickly out of necessity," she said.

There was a chair in the corner of the room and Lexie sat down positioning the girls for feeding. She was aware that Mark was in the room, but she need to feed the girls or they weren't going to stay happy. She laid the girls on her lap cooing at them as she unbuttoned her blouse. She was grateful when she noticed Mark looking discreetly away as she got the girls settled into place.

They sat there in comfortable silence as the girls nursed. After about ten minutes, the girls had their fill. She looked over at Mark and asked, "Would you like to burp one of them? It will make my job easier."

"Yes, of course," Mark said moving toward her. She handed Kayleigh to Mark and pulled her shirt into place, but from the grin on Mark's face, she could tell he got a good look. Feeling her face turn red, she turned her attention to Emma and said, "There are burping towels in the diaper bag. Grab one for her and please hand me one for Emma."

Mark knew Lexie was embarrassed but he couldn't help but admire the view when he picked up Kayleigh. He had never been around a nursing woman before. Callie was the first woman he was close to that had a baby and due to her accident and Sofia being a preemie, she hadn't nursed. But, he found the fact that Lexie was performing a very basic need to his children both heartwarming and slightly erotic at the same time. He kept telling himself to stop being a pervert, but he couldn't help by watch out of the corner of his eye.

Once the girls were burp, Lexie moved over to the bed and laid Emma down. "Lay Kayleigh down beside Emma," she said to Mark. "They need a diaper change before they get dressed."

"Ok," he said laying his daughter down. "Let me help."

So, Lexie handed him a clean diaper and an outfit for Kayleigh and they changed and dressed the girls while the girls giggled and squirmed for their parents.

Once they were dressed, Mark and Lexie each picked up a baby. "Are you ready to go then?" Mark asked.

"Yep," Lexie said. "I just need their diaper bag," she said putting to the bag by Mark's feet. He picked it up and put it over his shoulder.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"No, their car seats and stroller are downstairs. We just need that and we're good to go." Lexie smiled at Mark who was smiling at Kayleigh. "Ok, girlies," she said. "Let's go." And the four of them went downstairs to start their first family outing.

* * *

It was after 5 o'clock when a soggy Lexie and Mark carried Emma and Kayleigh into his apartment. He had finally convinced Lexie to bring the girls back to his apartment for dinner. She had said no several times insisting that she should be getting back to Meredith's, but when it started down pouring, she had relented, not wanting Mark to have to drive through a rainy Seattle during rush hour. Mark normally hated the rain, but he sent out a small thanks to the weather gods for doing him a favor.

Lexie was afraid to be alone with Mark in a non-public place, for fear that she would lose all self control. They had a wonderful day together with the girls. First, they went to the zoo where the girls giggled and laughed at all the animals. Then they visited some of the sights of Seattle, including the Space Needle where Mark had insisted they have lunch. After lunch, Mark had stopped by a store and went on a shopping spree. Lexie kept telling him that the girls didn't need anything, but she stopped when she saw how happy he was buying things for Kayleigh and Emma. Now, the trunk of Mark's car was full of bags of girls' clothes, stuffed animals and toys.

On the way home, the girls had drifted to sleep in the car, so Mark and Lexie kept quiet. It was the first time all day that they had been in silence. All day, they had talked and laughed as if they had never been apart. Mark took to his role as Emma and Kayleigh's daddy as if he had been there from the very beginning. They naturally took turns with the parental duties from pushing the strollers to changing diapers. Lexie couldn't get over how much of a natural father Mark was. She had always known he would be a good daddy. Before Sloane had arrived, she had picture a distant future of them living together in a big house with lots of little feet in the house. From the beginning, she had seen through the McSteamy exterior. Mark was a carrying, nurturing man under his rough exterior and it was never more apparent to her than now with his daughters.

Now, Lexie was standing in the apartment she hadn't been in for over a year. She saw the kitchen out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but remember that last time she had been here. She really hoped this visit ended better.

Luckily, Mark spoke first. "Let's put the girls down in Sofia's room, so they won't be disturbed. And, then we can order in some food."

"Ok," Lexie said quietly, before following Mark to the far side of the apartment. His apartment was only built with one bedroom, but if you set up screens in the far corner of the living room, it became a second bedroom. They had used the screens when Sloane was staying with them and Mark had put them back up to create a room for Sofia.

The room wasn't very large, but it was big enough for a baby. Lexie took in the details of the room. There was white crib with a pink bedding set. To the right, there was a small white dresser that had a changing table on top. To the left of the crib, there was a shelving unit covered in toys and stuffed animals. He had put down an area rug with colorful animals on it and there were a few matching pictures on the walls. She smiled when she saw the one picture. In the midst of all the pink animals and girly things in the room was a small print of a little girl wearing a Yankee jersey. It didn't matter how long it had been since he lived in New York, Mark was still a diehard Yankees fan.

"It's not much," Mark said, noticing Lexie looking around the room, "but it works for now. I know I need to get a bigger place before she gets much older, but I haven't found the time to start looking yet." He didn't mention that fact that he liked living in this apartment because he had shared it with her.

"It's really nice, Mark," she said. "You did a really good job with her room."

Mark gave her an awkward smile and just shrugged his shoulders. He was never one for taking complements. "Thanks," he said simply.

"No, really! This is a sweet room. You did a great job for a single guy. The Yankees picture's a nice touch," she said giving him a smile.

He actually smiled when she mentioned the Yankees picture. "Yea, well, she needs to learn young that the only team to like is the Yankees." They both laughed at this which caused Emma and Kayleigh to stir a bit.

"Ok, we better put them to sleep before they wake up. After this day, they would be super cranky," Lexie said.

Mark laid Emma down in Sofia's crib before taking Kayleigh from Lexie's arms and placing her beside her sister. Careful not to wake the sleeping babies and mindful that they were still in wet clothing, they stripped the girls down to their onesies, which were thankfully still dry.

Once the girls were tucked in, they both stood there for a few minutes just watching them sleep. Lexie's heart always swelled when she watched them sleep. To her, they were perfect anytime, but they seemed extra precious when they were sleeping and she could tell by the look on Mark's face that he felt the same.

Once they were back in the living room, they stood there is silence for a moment. Mark made the first move and said, "Here, give me your jacket. You're soaked."

Lexie peeled off her jacket and handed it to Mark. Mark hung the jackets up by the door before disappearing into the bedroom. Lexie took a moment to look around the apartment. Not much had changed in the last year, except for the baby items. There was a playpen beside the dining room table and some toys in the one corner. Other than that, the place still looked the same as when she lived there. She noticed some pictures on the one end table and picked one up. It was a picture of Mark, Callie, Arizona and Sofia. She didn't need to be told who she was – the resemblance to Callie was too apparent. She stood there just staring at the picture. This little girl was Emma and Kayleigh's sister and she couldn't help but feel a bit sad that she hadn't been there to see this little girl grow up too.

Mark came out of the bedroom holding a blanket and a sweatshirt for Lexie. He noticed her holding a picture of Sofia. "They don't look anything alike," he said.

Mark's voice caused Lexie to turn. "What?" she asked, startled.

"Sofia and the twins. They don't look alike at all. Sofia's in like Callie's mini-clone."

Lexie smiled. "And, Emma and Kayleigh are yours," she said.

Mark couldn't stop himself from grinning. "Yea, they are," he said. "But, I can see their mother in them too."

They both stood there smiling at each other for a minute before Mark realized Lexie was still soaked. "Here," he said, walking toward her. "Dry off before you freeze to death." Even with her extra curves, Lexie was still very petite and prone to getting cold easily.

Lexie kicked off her wet shoes and accepted the towel from Mark. Once she dried off her hair, Mark took the towel from her and handed her the sweatshirt. Lexie went to put it on and noticed it was Mark's Colombia shirt. It had always been her favorite to wear and from the look in his eye when he handed it to her, he had picked that one on purpose.

"What are you hungry for?" he asked, walking to the kitchen and throwing the wet towel into the corner.

"How about pizza?" she replied. "It's pouring. I think they could manage to get pizza here without soaking it."

"Pizza, it is," Mark said, grabbing his phone to place the order. "Make yourself at home," he said, as Lexie walked over and sat on the couch. "Would you like some wine?" he asked.

"Wine would be lovely," she said, "but I can't." When Mark looked at her confused, she pointed to her chest.

"Oh!" Mark said.

"Yea, we don't want two drunken little babies," she said with a small laugh.

"No, but then we would be sure they would sleep all night," he said laughing too. "Well, how about some water then?" he asked, carrying over two bottles.

Lexie looked at Mark as he sat down. "You can have some wine. You don't have to pass on my account."

He just shook his head. "No, if you can't drink, then I don't need to be drinking either," he said smiling at her. Lexie felt her heart melt at the gesture. She wasn't a big drinker, but she did miss having the occasional cocktail or beer after work to unwind. To have someone else sacrifice alcohol for her brought tears to her eyes. She quickly blinked her eyes and changed the subject before Mark noticed her crying.

"Do you want to watch a movie while we wait for the pizza?" he said. Mark knew that Lexie was a little uncomfortable being in his apartment again and he wanted to put her at ease. The day had gone so well and he didn't want to do anything to scare her away. Other than the addition of the babies, it had felt like they had never been apart. He had always been at ease around Lexie when they were dating and today they fell back into their old rhythm.

Mark starting flipping through the channels before stopping on a movie he knew Lexie liked.

"Pretty Woman?" she asked with a slight chuckle. "Really? This is what you want to watch?"

He just gave her his signature grin and Lexie felt her defenses start to crumble. "Sure. I know you like this movie. And Julia Roberts looks pretty hot in it, so I'm can manage," he said giving her another smile.

Lexie had to turn her head and focus on the movie. He had been doing things like that all day. He never touched her. He never outright flirted with her. But, he was certainly far from being platonic. Mark Sloan was very good flirting and using innuendos and he had been doing that with her all day. He would make a joke and then flash her "the face". She had always found Mark's flirting to be cute and she had a hard time resisting him. She praised herself on herself restraint throughout the day. She kept reminding herself that he had a girlfriend and things between them were very complicated. But, she was sure that whenever she had bent over to tend to the girls in the stroller, he had been checking out her ass.

Just thinking made her blush and being so close to him had her stomach in knots. She took a deep gulp of water to calm herself and focused very intently on Julia Roberts' Rodeo Drive shopping spree.

Lexie was so thankful when the doorbell rang about thirty minutes later. At least she could distract herself by putting food in her mouth instead of thinking of the other things she would like to be doing with her mouth at the moment.

Mark carried the box over and sat in on the coffee table. "Here, let me get some plates and we can dig in," he said as he walked into the kitchen. She couldn't help but turn her head and catch a glimpse of his backside as he walked around the counter. She was actually hoping that the girls would wake up, so she would have an excuse to go home before she made a complete fool out of herself.

When Mark returned with the plates and napkins, he couldn't help but notice the blush in Lexie's cheeks and that she was chewing on her bottom lip. He could tell she was nervous and uncomfortable being alone with me, but she looked so damn cute that he just wanted to push his hands into her hair and kiss her senseless.

"Ok, let's eat," he said, sitting down and handing her a plate.

"Thanks," she said, trying to avoid eye contact. She grabbed some pizza and went back to watching the movie.

Mark didn't remember ever being so tensed up while eating a meal, let alone pizza. Usually, a night relaxing on the couch with pizza and beer was a great way to unwind. Tonight, though, he felt like every nerve and muscle in his body was on edge. It took all his willpower not to grab Lexie and throw her back on the couch.

When he was done eating, he sat forward to sit his plate on the table. He saw Lexie had a death grib on her empty plate. "Here," he said. "Let me take that for you."

"Uh, oh..thanks," she said softly, handing the plate to him. When she did, her hand slightly brushed his and it was like a bolt of electricity went through them. Their eyes met and just locked on each other. Mark could see Lexie's deep brown eyes widen on contact with him and he lost all control. He took the plate from her and sat it on the table not carrying where it ended up.

Mark's hands reached out cupped Lexie's face and he brushed his fingers over her cheeks. She sighed as she felt Mark's touch and lost herself in his blue eyes. Mark's hands threaded themselves into Lexie's hair and he lowered his head toward her and took in her natural scent. She was never one to wear much perfume but the light flowery scent of her shampoo was just as intoxicating. Lexie's lips had parted slightly and Mark was about to lean into kiss her when he heard the door unlock and a "Surprise!" echo into the apartment.

Lexie and Mark jumped back like they had been burned with fire and turned to see a stunned woman standing there with a suitcase in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

Mark's mind went blank as he tried to process his current situation. He just sat there gaping at the woman standing in his living room looking like someone had punched her. It was Lexie's "Oh, god" that brought him to reality.

He jumped up and started toward the woman. "J… Julia!" he stammered, "You're back early," he said. He immediately felt a sense of guilt when he realized he hadn't even thought about her all day and hadn't returned her calls in two days.

"I wanted to surprise you," she said in a flat tone, not taking her eyes off Lexie.

Lexie wanted to crawl under the table and die of embarrassment. Mark's girlfriend had walked in on them about to kiss! Could she do anything else to screw up her life?

When no one made a move, Lexie said, "Uh….look…uh, I should be getting back to Meredith's."

Mark just stood in the middle of the two women, not knowing what to do. He had juggled multiple women before, but he was clueless to this situation.

"I'm just going to go wake up the girls," Lexie said standing up.

"Girls?" Julia asked, finally gaining her senses.

"Uh…yes, my daughters are sleeping in Sofia's room," Lexie said. When neither Mark nor Julia reacted, Lexie went into Sofia's room and quickly dressed her sleeping daughters. Thankfully, they were still sound asleep and only stirred slightly.

As Lexie was dressing the babies, Mark continued looking at Julia. She was just standing there still holding the wine and looking heartbroken. He finally took a step toward her and took the wine from her hands. She looked startled but handed it to him.

He sat the wine on the calendar and started to speak. "Julia, let me explain.." He was cut off as Lexie came out of the bedroom holding both girls.

The room was so filled with tension and Lexie wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. "We are going to go now, Mark," she said heading toward the door. She was trying to pick up her bags and balance the sleeping babies when Mark rushed over.

"Lex, let me help you," he said. She just gave him a look and he simply said, "Please."

She sighed. She needed the car seats out of his car anyway. "Ok, fine. Take the bags. I have the girls."

"Ok," he said picking up the bags. He turned to look at Julia, whose expression he still couldn't read. "Julia, I'll be right back. Please don't leave. I'll explain."

Julia just looked at him before shrugging her shoulders and giving him a terse "fine."

Once they were in the elevator, Mark finally spoke. "Listen, Lex, I'm sorry. I didn't know she would be back tonight."

She just turned and looked at him. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I almost kissed another woman's boyfriend," she said sarcastically.

He just sighed. "Lexie, we had such a good day. I don't want to ruin it."

"Well, it's already too late," she said, walking off the elevators into the parking garage.

Mark followed right behind her. "Please, Lex. Let me explain."

Lexie turned to look at him. "There's nothing to explain. She's your girlfriend. She had every right to be there. I don't. It's that simple."

He grabbed her arm and spun her toward him, mindful of his children in her arms. "No, it's not that simple, Lex. With us, it's never that simple," he said with his voice full of emotion.

"Let me make it up to you. I still want to see the girls. We still have a lot to talk about and work through. I need to go deal with Julia first. But, tomorrow, you and I need to sit down and have a serious conversation."

She sighed. She knew he was right. Emma and Kayleigh's needs had to come before their own. "Fine," she said. "Come over to Meredith's tomorrow and we will talk. Right now, I need to get these babies to bed."

"Fine, fine. That's perfect. I'll come over tomorrow," he said.

"I need you to get the car seats out and call a cab," she said. "They are starting to get a little heavy."

Mark immediately reached out and took Kayleigh from her arms. "No," he said. "Take the car. Their stuff is already in it and I don't want my children in some dirty cab late at night."

Lexie wanted to protest but she knew it would be much easier just taking Mark's car. "Fine," she said.

"Good," Mark replied. "I'll take a cab in the morning."

Mark and Lexie strapped the babies into the car in silence. Lexie walked around to the driver's side and Mark handed her the keys. "Thank you," she said, taking the keys and getting in the car. She just wanted to leave.

"I'll see you in the morning," he called out before she shut the door. He stood back and watched her drive out of the parking garage. He continued to stand there for a few minutes wondering how he had managed to screw up such a wonderful day before he turned and headed back to the elevator.

* * *

Mark took his time walking back to his apartment. He was not looking forward to speaking to the angry woman in his apartment. He couldn't blame Julia for being mad. Less than a week ago, she was talking about starting a family with him and now she had walked in on him with another woman. Granted, nothing had happened yet, but if she had been a few seconds later, Mark knew that wouldn't have been the case.

When Mark walked back into the apartment, Julia was sitting on the couch staring blankly ahead. Not sure what to say, he sat down on the chair across from her and waited for her to speak first.

After a good ten minutes of silence, she finally said, "Explain."

Mark just looked at her. "Explain?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes, explain," she said with a bit more emotion in her voice. "Explain to me why I found you on the couch with another woman. Explain to me why there were two strange babies in Sofia's crib. I consider myself a rational adult, so I am going to let you explain yourself to me."

"Okaaaay," Mark said. He had expected ranting and raving and possibly getting something thrown at his head. Julia's calm approach was actually freaking him out a bit more.

When Mark still didn't say anything, Julia said, "How about we start with a name? What's her name, Mark?"

"Lexie Grey."

"L..L..Lexie? As in Meredith's sister Lexie? As in your ex, Lexie?!"

"Yes." Mark sighed. "And the babies that were with her are Emma Rose Grey and Kayleigh Susan Grey. They are her daughters." He paused for a moment, before going on. "And my daughters too."

At the "my daughters", Julia's head snapped up and she jumped off the couch. "Your daughters?!" she cried.

Now, this was the reaction Mark was expecting. "Yes, my daughters," he said again.

"How could you not tell me you had more children?" she yelled.

"Because I just found out about them yesterday," he said calmly. This statement took some of the steam of Julia's anger.

"She..she..kept them from you? Why wouldn't she tell you about your children? How are you even sure they are yours then?" Julia asked frantically.

"They are MY daughters, Julia!" Mark exclaimed. He was getting sick of people questioning his relation to his kids. He stomped in the bedroom to grab the picture off his nightstand and shoved it into Julia's hand when he got back into the living room.

"Oh," was all Julia said, before sinking back onto the couch. She stared at the picture for a few minutes before saying, "They're beautiful."

"Yea," he said. "They really are."

"So, why didn't she tell you before yesterday?" Julia asked.

Mark rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "Well, it's complicated," he said, walking over and sitting back down in the chair. He went on to explain how Lexie had left Seattle after Callie's accident and the subsequent events leading up to her return.

Throughout Mark's explanation, Julia just sat there in silence. "Ok," she said finally. "Maybe I can understand why she didn't tell you then. But, why now?"

"Meredith mentioned to Lexie that we were thinking about starting a family and she thought I should know that Sofia already has siblings before decided to have more children."

"She didn't want to tell you about your kids until she heard about you wanting to have a family with another person? Sounds like some piece of work to me!" she exclaimed, jumping up.

"Hey! Don't talk about her like that," Mark yelled, also standing up. "You don't know her. You don't know what she went through. What I put her through!"

"What you put her through?" Julia exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

Mark sighed. He had never really talked about his relationship with Lexie to Julia. She knew they had dated, but he never really told her much more than that. Until yesterday, Lexie was a subject he never wanted to discuss.

"Lexie and I started dating almost four years ago," he said. "She was the one who changed me. Before her, I slept around and moved from woman to woman. I was never in a serious relationship. I was never in love. I thought I was with Addison, but after being with Lexie, I realized I was just trying to fill a void with Addison. Lexie was the first person who really saw me for me. She showed me what it was like to really love someone."

Mark paused, but Julia just stood there dumfounded. So, he continued. "We actually moved into together. We lived here, in this apartment, for about six months. And, everything was great. I was the happiest I had ever been. And, the Sloane showed up." Julia knew that Mark had an estranged grown daughter that he only knew about for a few years, but she didn't know how Mark found out about her.

"Sloane showed up the hospital right before Thanksgiving three years ago claiming she was my daughter. We did a paternity test and she was. So, she moved in with us. We thought it would be temporary, but then she didn't leave. It turns out she was pregnant. She quit school and her mom kicked her out. I was her last hope. So, I told her that Lexie and I would help raise the baby. I was trying to be a good dad, but I never once asked Lexie's opinion. She was only twenty-five at the time and she wasn't ready to be a mom yet. So, she broke up with me and moved out." Mark stopped for a moment because thinking about Lexie leaving still hurt after three years.

"Then what happened?" Julia prompted.

"Sloane decided to give the baby up for adoption. I tried to work things out with Lexie, but it was…complicated." He did not want to get into the whole Addison/Alex mess with Julia. "I told her I wanted to get back together with her. I told her I was still in love with her. And, two days later, a gunman shot up the hospital." Julia was familiar with the SGMW hospital massacre. She had been working at Seattle Presbyterian that day when the victims had been transported there.

When Julia nodded, Mark continued. "Lexie did not cope with the shooting well. She had a run-in with the gunman trying to get Karev blood and the stress from everything caused her to not sleep and have a nervous break-down. I actually had to commit her to the psych ward against her will." He quickly continued on. He did not want to remember how sad and hurt Lexie had been that day. It still broke his heart thinking about her in that much pain.

"After she was cleared to go back to work, I kept trying to talk to her and she kept pushing me away. Finally, I convinced her to have a drink with me after she needed a work favor from me." He smiled thinking about the kiss at Joe's. When she had walked into the bar that night, he didn't even say a word to her. He just kissed her and everything fell back into place. Not wanted to share that memory with Julia, he simply said, "We worked things out and got back together."

"It actually seemed like everything was going to work out that time, but then Callie found out she was pregnant. We had hooked up before I got back together with Lexie. When she found out, she flipped and walked out again. I wanted to fix things with her, but she wouldn't even talk to me. It wasn't until Callie's accident that she talked to me again."

Julia just stood there looking at him. He took a deep breath before continuing. "While Callie was in surgery and the ICU, Lexie stayed with me the entire time." Not wanting to get into much detail, he said, "One thing led to another…. and well, now Emma and Kayleigh exist."

By this point, Mark was sitting back in the chair and Julia was sitting back on the couch. They both sat in silence for a few minutes before Mark said, "Julia? Say something."

She looked at Mark and sighed. "I don't know what to say, Mark. I knew you had been in relationships before, but I didn't realize Lexie was your only real relationship. I've told you about my past. I don't understand why you couldn't tell me about yours. If you are going to be in an open relationship with someone knowing about their past and how it shaped them is really important."

Mark just sighed. "I know," he said simply.

"So, why didn't you ever tell me?" she asked looking him in the eye.

"Because it was too painful. Once she left, I never wanted to talk about her," he said sadly.

"Because you were still in love with her?" Julia asked in a shocked voice.

"Yes, I was still in love with her when she left," Mark said.

"That was only a few months before we started dating," she exclaimed standing up again. "Were you still in love with her when we started dating?"

When he didn't say anything, Julia knew. "You went out with me when you were still in love with another woman!"

She started pacing the apartment when she suddenly turned and pointed at him. "They warned me about you, you know!"

"Who?" Mark exclaimed.

"The nurses, the doctors, technicians. Even at Seattle Pres, your reputation got around. But, they warned me you were a womanizer. Not that you were in love with someone else. Cheating for sex is one thing. But, loving another person is something completely different. That's a worse betrayal."

"Julia…"

"No!" she said. "I kept telling myself that I was pressuring you. That I was making you move too fast. When I said I love you and you didn't reply, I put that on me. I told myself that a man like you would be afraid of commitment and I would scare you off. But, the whole time, I was second best. I was your replacement. Your rebound, wasn't I?"

Mark stood there silently. "Wasn't I?!" she exclaimed again.

"Julia, it wasn't like that. I care about you…"

"Care? Care? That's it? After what…nine months together, the best you can give me is I care about you? I told you I love you. I told you I want to have a baby with you. And, you only CARE about me?"

Mark just rubbed his hand over his face. He was completely lost on how to handle the situation.

"Did you cheat on me with her?" she asked, suddenly changing tactics.

"What?" Mark said, finally speaking. "No!"

"When I walked in, you were about to kiss her, weren't you? Weren't you?!" she yelled.

"Yes," Mark said moving forward. "Julia…. I'm sorry… I never meant to hurt me."

"Well, too late," she said. "I feel like an idiot. I really thought we were building something together. I saw a future for us. I saw myself having a family with you. I fell in love with your kid. I get along great with your kid's moms. But, the whole time I was just a replacement for the woman you really wanted, wasn't I? Tell me the truth, Mark," she said quietly. By this point, she had tears running down her face.

"I tried, Julia. I really tried. I wanted you to be the one for me. We are at the same places in our careers. We want the same things out of life. Sofia gets along with you. Callie and Arizona get along with you. Everything was perfect."

"Except you love someone else," she said quietly.

"Yes," he said looking at her in the eye. "I tried not to. For a while, I actually convinced myself that I didn't love Lexie anymore. I wanted to love you. But, yesterday, when Lexie showed up and told me about Emma and Kayleigh, I couldn't deny it anymore. I love her. I'm so sorry, Julia," Mark said sincerely. He really did care about Julia and he felt awful for making her cry, but he couldn't his feelings anymore.

"Me too, Mark. Me too," she said defeated.

She turned to grab her suitcase, but stopped and moved toward him. For a second Mark thought she might actually hit him. But, she walked around and gave him quick hug. He returned the gesture before pulling back from her.

"I'm truly sorry for hurting you, Julia," he said.

She just gave him a small smile. "I know," she said. She turned and grabbed onto her suitcase. "Just put the rest of my stuff in a box and drop it off at Seattle Pres. I'll leave a box of your stuff there to pick up."

"Ok," he said softly.

She walked over and opened the door and turned to give him one more look. "Good-bye, Mark" she said softly and walked out the door.

* * *

***Author's Note: I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's the longest one yet. It's over 7000 words. On average, it takes me an hour to write 1000 words, so this is easily 7 hours of work. **

**Please review and let me know what you think. I hope the break-up lived up to the expectations. ***


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – Extra Baggage**

*** Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews. I am glad you liked the break-up between Mark and Julia. As much as most Slexie fans don't like her, Julia is actually a victim in Mark and Lexie's drama and I wanted that to play out rather than have her be the villain.**

**Writing this chapter, I finally realized what other authors mean when they say the characters took over the writing. In my case, Mark Sloan took over this chapter. I had a completely different outline planned but when I got to Mark's first scene, Dr. McSteamy took the reins and I couldn't tell him no. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The drive back to Meredith's took forever because of the rain. The people of Seattle were accustomed to going about day-to-day life in the rain, but when Lexie left Mark's, it wasn't just raining - it was pouring. By the time they finally reached the house, both Emma and Kayleigh were crying. Lexie couldn't blame them. She felt like crying too. Throughout the entire drive, she had replayed the events at Mark's apartment in her head over and over again.

When Mark was about to kiss her, she could barely contain the beating in her chest. She had wanted to kiss him so badly. Being so close to him all day had just reminded her how much she missed him. When Mark had put his hands in her hair, she almost wept with joy and then Julia had walked in.

_Oh, God_, she thought just thinking about it. _That poor woman. _Lexie was always the good girl and she was never a cheater. But, there she was about to kiss someone else's boyfriend with no regard to the girlfriend. And then **that** girlfriend walked in on them. The stunned and hurt look on Julia's face haunted Lexie. She felt so damn guilty.

Even though this was Mark and those were his children in the back seat, she still did not have the right to be kissing another woman's boyfriend. Lexie was the one who never told Mark she was pregnant. Julia had started dating Mark thinking he was completely unattached and actually he was. Lexie was the one who was in the wrong. Granted, Mark had made the first move and he _did _have a girlfriend, but that didn't help the guilt gnawing at Lexie's gut.

She just sat there staring at the rain pouring down feeling sorry and cursing herself for the mess her life was in. Finally, Emma and Kayleigh decided they had enough of being in the car and their whimpering turned into full blown crying. Lexie whipped around when she heard her daughters and then she felt even worse. _Great, now I'm a horrible mother too. _

"Ok, girls. It's ok. Mommy's sorry. I know, I know. Your nap got interrupted and now you are starving," Lexie said trying to sooth the girls. She was bent over the backseat unhooking the car seats so all she would have to do is grab the girls and run into the house. But, even with Lexie's best intentions, by the time they got into the house, all three of them were soaked to the bone and the girls were screaming at the top of their lungs.

Derek was sitting in the living room playing with Zola when Lexie came stumbling into the house. He looked up at the noise and was shocked by the sight he saw. Lexie had a diaper bag barely hanging onto her arm, she was juggling the babies who were screaming bloody murder and there was a large puddle forming on the hardwood.

He must have made a noise because Lexie looked up at him. As soon as she made eye contact with Derek, she burst into tears. She had made it out of Mark's apartment without crying. She had made it home and through the rain with two screaming infants without crying. But, seeing that sympathetic look on Derek's face was the last straw and the dam of tears she had been holding back for the last hour came pouring out.

Derek jumped off the couch and came running over. "Here, Lexie. Let me help you," he said taking Emma and the diaper bag from her arms. She couldn't even say thank you because she was crying too hard but she was very grateful for Derek's assistance.

When Lexie didn't make any attempt to move, he put his hand on her back and led her into the living room. Zola was standing between the coffee table and the couch just staring up at her aunt and cousins. Despite the severity of the situation Derek had on his hands, he couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on Zola's face.

Derek guided Lexie over to the loveseat. "Lexie, sit down," he said gently at the same time rocking and trying to sooth Emma. Lexie just plopped down still holding a still screaming Kayleigh. Seeing that Lexie wasn't much help, he grabbed Kayleigh and laid both girls on the sofa. He quickly stripped them off their soaked clothing and covered them with a blanket from the back of the sofa. It didn't do much to stop their crying but at least they weren't screaming.

Lexie finally looked up and realized what was going on. "Oh, God," she said jumping off the loveseat. "I'm a horrible mother," she cried trying to hold back her tears.

"Lexie, Lexie," Derek said putting a hand on her arm. "It's ok."

"They are probably freezing," she said frantically. "And they have to be starving. It has been hours since they ate. I normally feed them after their nap, but Julia came in and, and…" She threw up her hands and starting crying again.

Derek was getting the picture of what had happened and secretly cursed his friend. He should have known Mark would do something to mess up this situation. When it came to Lexie, Mark always had a way of screwing things up despite his best intentions.

"Ok, Lexie. This is what we are going to do. First, you are going to take off your coat and go upstairs and change your clothes." When she started to protest, he held up his hand. "You can't help your daughters if you are soaking wet." When Lexie nodded her head, Derek continued. "I will change their diapers which I sure haven't been changed since before their nap." Lexie nodded. "Thought so. Ok, once everyone is changed, they can eat." Seeing Lexie's hesitation, he pointed at the stairs and simply said, "Go," using the tone he would when scolding Zola. Lexie took one last look at her crying babies before rushing upstairs.

Derek turned and looked at Zola who still looked dumbfounded by the situation. "Zola," he said in an exasperated tone, "stay away from boys."

* * *

Mark didn't know how long he stood there staring at the closed door. He was still trying to process the events that had unfolded in the last hour. His girlfriend has just broken up with him because she realized he was still in love with another woman. Mark wasn't the type of person who usually dealt with his emotions and he had a bunch of them at the moment. So, he poured a glass of scotch and sat down on the chair. He didn't want to sit on the sofa where he had almost kissed Lexie.

_Lexie. God, she went running out of this apartment AGAIN. _He took a gulp of the scotch relishing in the burn. It felt better than the ache in his heart. He really hoped he hadn't screwed things up with Lexie. He had wanted the day to go so perfectly and it had. Until he had tried to kiss her. Mark knew he shouldn't have brought her back to the apartment. He wanted to take things slow with her. He should have just taken her home to Meredith's. But, he wanted more time with her and more time with their daughters. He really had thought he could keep his hands off her. But, being so close to her after so long, all he wanted to do was to pull her into his arms and carry her into the bedroom.

He had restrained himself all day from touching her, but when she was beside him on the sofa, he couldn't resist her. She looked so damn adorable wearing his sweatshirt. He just had to kiss her. And, then his girlfriend walked in.

_His girlfriend_. _Yea, the one you ignored and practically forgot she existed. _He honestly had not even thought of Julia all day, which had to make him the world's worst boyfriend. He really did care for Julia and he felt horrible for hurting her. She had been nothing but wonderful the entire time they dated and he had just forgotten her when Lexie showed up yesterday. _Was it only yesterday?_ He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in less than thirty hours.

If Lexie hadn't shown up yesterday, he would have told Julia he wanted to have a baby with her. Instead, he confessed that he had two daughters and he had never stopped loving their mother. As guilty as he felt about hurting Julia, he couldn't contain the happiness he felt when he thought about Lexie. He loved her. He loved Lexie Grey! He had never stopped loving her. The only thing he wanted to do was be with Lexie and make a family with her and his daughters.

_What the hell am I doing sitting here? _The last time he let Lexie walk out the door, she never came back. He wasn't going to let that happened this time. He may have screwed up in the past, but he knew this was their last shot and he would be damned if he wasn't going to make it work.

He jumped up off the couch not caring about the remnants of their pizza dinner still sitting on the coffee table. In less than five minutes, he was in a cab on the way to Meredith's house.

* * *

When Lexie came back downstairs ten minutes later, she didn't hear any crying. She had changed her clothes as fast as possible, but she did take time to splash cold water on her face. Not that she needed to be any colder. Even though it was June, she was freezing. But, her eyes were puffy and she had mascara running down her face. She got herself somewhat presentable before heading back to her children.

She was shocked though to see the girls lying quietly in Derek's arms. "They aren't crying," she said shocked.

"You look better," Derek said, glad to see the tears had stopped.

"How did you get them to stop crying?" she asked walking over and sitting down on the sofa.

"I have a way with women," Derek said smiling. Seeing Lexie's confused look, he just laughed. "Lexie, I have four sisters. I know how to deal with crying women. Big _and_ small."

Lexie blushed. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"It's ok, Lexie," he said. "It's not the first time Mark has made you cry."

Lexie looked at him, stunned. "How did….?"

"Hmm, let me see. You spent the entire day with Mark and came home crying. My money was on him doing something stupid."

Derek's words upset Lexie. He always seemed to expect the worst from Mark. Granted, he tended to screw up a lot, but she hated the way that people always thought so little of Mark, especially Derek. "Don't you think you are being a little hard on Mark?" she said. "You never give him enough credit. Mark was perfect all day long. This is all my fault," she exclaimed.

He was shocked by Lexie's outburst. After her crying spell, he expected her to be blaming Mark. He was actually very impressed. Lexie had really grown up since leaving Seattle.

"You're right. I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Do you want to tell me what happen?"

Lexie sighed. "Yes, but I need to feed Emma and Kayleigh."

"Ok. Let me go get Zola ready for bed and then we can talk," he said standing up and throwing Zola over his head who giggled hysterically. Derek was good with handling women after growing up with four sisters and then living with Meredith for the last few years. But, Lexie was his sister and as natural as it was, he didn't need to see her breast-feeding. He was glad he had an excuse to leave the room for a few minutes. He really did want to know what happened, for Lexie's sake and for his own curiosity.

Once Derek was upstairs, Lexie got Emma and Kayleigh settled into position. They didn't hesitate to latch on and suckled like they hadn't eaten in days. She started to tear up again when she thought about how she was neglecting her babies, but she managed to hold the tears in. Emma and Kayleigh had been through enough tonight. She didn't need to be crying all over them.

They nursed for a long time and as soon as she was done burping them, they were already falling asleep. She carried them upstairs and was able to put on their pajamas and putting them in the playpen without them even stirring. When she got back downstairs, Derek was already sitting on the couch.

Lexie sat down in the corner of the couch and covered up with a blanket. Derek didn't push her. He knew she would finally start talking when she was ready. She just sat there for a few minutes just staring at the blanket. She wasn't used to having someone to talk to about her problems. Since she had kept her pregnancy and the girls a secret, she had been dealing with her emotions all on her own.

Finally, she let out a big sigh. "Everything was going so perfect today." She looked up at Derek and smiled. "Mark and Emma and Kayleigh got along so well. It was like they knew each other from the beginning. He's such a natural father."

"He has a way with kids," Derek said. "I would have never expected it, but he's great with Sofia. She has him wrapped around her finger. And, Zola loves being around Uncle Mark."

Lexie smiled. "I could see that today." She sighed again. "I always knew he would be a great father, but I wasn't ready when he wanted me to be." She looked down at the blanket again as she was starting to cry again thinking about how great of a daddy Mark was. Through choked tears, she said, "It was like we were actually a family today. We talked and laughed and the girls had a great time. It was perfect."

"But?" Derek asked.

She looked up. "Then it started raining and Mark finally convinced me to go back to his apartment for dinner. I knew I shouldn't have gone, but he can be so damn charming when he wants something. We put the girls to sleep in Sofia's room and watched a movie until pizza got there. He was so nice. He gave me his sweatshirt to wear and passed on drinking wine since I can't." Derek smiled because the longer Lexie talked the higher her voice got and the faster she spoke. It had been a long time since he had heard a Little Grey rambling and even though she was upset, he was amused by her talking.

"And then, and then…. I don't know what happened. He looked at me. I knew he wanted to kiss me. He had been flirting with me all day. I tried to ignore it and deny he was doing it. But, I'm not stupid. I know when he's flirting. Then, he had his hands in my hair and he was about to kiss me. And, I was so happy," she said, her voice finally breaking. "And, then Julia walked in." She threw up her hands. "I grabbed the girls and got out of there as soon as possible."

Just thinking about it, she started crying harder. She put her elbows on her knees bending forward and crying into her hands. "I'm a horrible person. I kept his children from him and he moved on. I knew he had a girlfriend. But, I almost kissed him and he's someone's boyfriend. The look on that poor woman's face! She looked like someone had punched her in the gut. And, she's probably a really nice person. I don't know her, but yet I didn't even think about her since I showed up. I actually came because I found out she wanted to have his baby and I was jealous! So, in actuality, I came here to steal him from her. So, I'm a lying, cheating boyfriend stealer!" she cried, sobbing harder.

Derek moved closer and put his hand on her back. "That's why I never told him. I didn't want her to feel like I did when he chose Sloane over me. But, I forgot about all that today because I miss him. I mean, I really miss him. And, I have wanted to tell him for months about Emma and Kayleigh, but every time I tried, every time I wanted to pick up the phone, nothing came out. And now, everything is terrible."

"It's going to be ok," Derek said quietly, while rubbing her back. He just sat there rubbing her back as she continued to cry. After a few minutes her sobs slowed down into sniffles and Derek handed her a box of tissues.

"Thank you," she said softly. She sat back into the sofa and looked at Derek. "I've made a mess of everything."

"No," Derek said. "Well, yes, technically you did. But, Mark did too. You both made mistakes, in the past and today. But, you are trying to fix your mistakes, Lexie. You came to Seattle. Mark met his kids." Lexie had stopped crying and was listening intently to Derek. Seeing her tears had stopped, Derek decided to be honest with her.

"Julia was always a substitute for you, Lexie." Her eyes went wide when she heard this. Seeing her shocked face, Derek nodded. "Really. Mark has never said it out loud, but actions speak louder than words. When he was with you, he never hesitated to do what he wanted. He went behind my back, risking our friendship, to date you. And, then he asked you to move in with him without asking anyone's advice. But, the entire time he has been with Julia, he is always asking other people's opinions of her. Do you like Julia? Should I move in with Julia? Should I have a baby with Julia?"

"Really?" Lexie asked. "He asked you if he should have a baby with her?"

"The day before you arrived actually. But, never once during the entire time he was with you did he ever ask my advice on you. You know why?" Lexie just shook her head. "Because he loves you, Lexie. You changed him. He became a better man with you. You are the one who made him whole and he never questioned his actions towards you. But, Julia? He was trying to fill the void you left in his life. Sure, he cares for Julia. But, not like he does for you."

Lexie just sat there in stunned silence taking in Derek's words. Finally, Derek said, "Why don't you go to sleep on everything and in the morning when you have a clear head, you can go talk to Mark?

She looked at Derek, gratefully. "Ok." She started to stand up, but stopped and turned to Derek giving him a big hug. "Thank you," she mumbled into his shirt. She pulled back and looked at him. "You are a really good big brother," she said smiling.

"You're welcome," he said smiling back at her.

* * *

Derek stayed in the living room after Lexie went up to bed. He decided to wait up for Meredith. She had gotten pulled into an emergency surgery but he wanted to fill her in on everything with Lexie and Mark. When he heard a car pull up, he thought it was Meredith until he heard the knock at the door. He looked at the clock and saw it was after ten o'clock and wondered who would be there that late. When Meredith's friends lived there, it was normal for people to show up at odd hours of the night. Now, since everyone had moved out, it was much quieter in the Grey-Shepherd household.

When he came around the corner, he was a little shocked to see his best friend pacing on the front porch, but happily surprised. For once, Mark had actually gone after Lexie instead of just letting her leave. It gave him hope for the two of them.

He opened the door and Mark turned. "Where is she?" he blurted out pushing his way into the house.

"Nice to see you too," Derek said, closing the door.

"Where is she?" Mark asked again.

"Lexie and your daughters…and my daughter, I might add, are upstairs sleeping," Derek said getting more amused at Mark's nervousness.

"Is she ok?" Mark asked, running his hand through his hair.

"She is now," Derek said.

"What do you mean, now?" Mark said concerned.

"When she came walking into the house, her and the girls were soaked and all three of them were crying."

"Shit," Mark said rubbing his hand over his face. "I knew I screwed up."

Derek folded his hands across his chest, smiling. "Actually, she thinks she's the one who screwed up."

Mark's head shot up. "What?" he exclaimed.

"To quote Lexie," Derek said, "I'm a lying, cheating boyfriend stealer."

Mark's mouth just dropped open. "Great," he said a minute later. "I upset two women tonight. Four if you count my daughters." Suddenly, he got even more concerned. "Emma and Kayleigh are ok, right? You said they were crying."

"Yes, they are fine," Derek said trying to calm the concerned father. "When they got here, they were wet, they were starving and their diapers needed changing. But, Uncle Derek came to the rescue and now they are content and sleeping."

"Thank you, Derek," Mark said, looking instantly relieved.

"There's no need to thank me. I was helping my family. Now do you want to tell me what happened with Julia?" Derek asked.

"She walked in on me about to kiss Lexie," he said. "And instead of turning around and leaving, she made me explain myself. I had to tell her about Lexie and the girls and, to do so I had to explain our past history."

"And?" Derek probed.

"And?!" Mark exclaimed. "I told her about my past with Lexie, which in the past year, I have never even mentioned to Julia and she figured out I was still in love with Lexie!"

"Well, at least she figured it out now before you did something stupid like have a kid with her," Derek said.

"Yea," Mark said quietly.

"Then what happen?" Derek asked.

"I told her I was in love with another woman. What do you think she did? She broke up with me!" Mark exclaimed.

"Good," Derek said.

"Good?" Mark asked.

"Yea, now you can go fix things with the mother of your children," Derek said, the frustration coming through in his voice.

Mark just glared back at him. "Why the hell do you think I'm here?" he said gruffly.

"Chasing Lexie," Derek said smiling.

Mark just looked at Derek liked he wanted to punch him, but instead he started laughing. "Yea, yea, I guess I am." He put his hand in his pocket smiling. "As soon as Julia left, I realized I couldn't lose her this time."

"Well," Derek said, pointing to the stairs. "What are you waiting for?"

* * *

When Lexie had gotten back to her bedroom, Emma and Kayleigh were still sound asleep. They had been sleeping through the night for months, but after the long, tiring day, she didn't expect much would wake them tonight. She settled into bed but sleep eluded her. She kept replaying the events of that day in her head and repeating the words Derek told her. Her photographic memory was usually a blessing, but when it came to trying to forget painful or stressful things, it was a major pain.

So, she decided she might as well catch up on some reading since she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. With work and the girls, she barely found time to read anymore. She had been carrying the same book around for the last two months. After the girls fell asleep, she tried to read a few pages to unwind before going to bed.

She had only read a few pages when she heard a knock on her door. She figured Meredith had gotten home and was coming in to check on her.

"Come in," she said, loud enough for Meredith to hear, but not loud enough to wake the babies. She couldn't have been more shocked when Mark came walking into the room.

Mark could tell she was surprised to see him. She was sitting in bed under the covers with a book on her lap. She had the lamp beside the bed on the lowest setting and it gave off a glow behind her. Her hair was flowing loosely around her face and she wasn't wearing makeup. Despite the slight puffiness in her eyes, she looked absolutely beautiful to Mark.

She was still staring at him with her mouth slightly open when he closed the door behind him. She was so surprised to see him there that she couldn't move. In the entire time they had been together, Mark had never come after her when they had argued. Granted, they really never fought, but the fights they did have ended their relationships. Even then, Mark had never gone running after her. But here he was, standing in her bedroom in Meredith's house in the middle of the night.

When Lexie didn't seem to protest at his presence, he quietly closed the door behind him mindful of his sleeping daughters. He took off his coat and laid it over the back of the chair before going over and looking down at Emma and Kayleigh. It warmed his heart to know that they were sleeping and safe. He had been very worried about them being out in this rainstorm. Ever since Callie's accident, he had become a very protective daddy with Sofia and he wasn't going to be any different with these girls.

Lexie was still sitting under the covers staring at Mark checking on their sleeping daughters. It made her heart melt that his first concern was making sure the girls were safe.

Mark looked up and saw Lexie staring at him and suddenly got nervous. He had rehearsed what he wanted to say to her during the cab ride but now that the moment was actually here, words eluded him. He motioned to the bed and said, "Can I sit?"

Lexie just swallowed and nodded her head. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that something big was about to happen and her stomach tightened into knots.

Mark took a deep breath before speaking. "Lex," he said, "I'm so sorry for what happened tonight. I ruined a perfectly good day. Today, being with you and Emma and Kayleigh, was one of the best days I ever had, Lexie. They are amazing, Lexie. I can never thank you enough for giving them to me." Seeing Lexie's shocked expression, he smiled. "I'm still not happy about you not telling me about them, but I don't want to talk about that right now. I know you weren't ready to be a mother. I pushed you and that's why you left before. And, then against my best intentions, you became pregnant anyway. I hate that you have been raising them all alone, but they are magnificent, Lexie, and I am so happy you are their mother."

Mark had been speaking softly so he didn't wake the babies, but he voice started to break at the end because he was holding back tears while talking to Lexie. He and Lexie had been looking straight into each other's eyes the entire time he was talking and he could see tears running down Lexie's facing.

He reached up and brushed some of the tears away with his thumb. "Please don't cry, Lex. I can't stand to see you cry."

Lexie struggled to speak. She knew how rare it was for Mark Sloan to actually verbalize his feelings. She always knew he was a softy at heart, but he rarely spoke the words. When they had been dating, she knew how to read him so well that he didn't have to. Lexie couldn't help but cry at hearing him speak with such sincerity.

"I can't help it, Mark," she said. "When you say things like that, I just can't help it," she said, sniffling slightly.

"You're too beautiful to cry, Lex," he said, wiping away more tears. Lexie's brown eyes widened and the knots in her stomach almost disappeared. Mark wanted nothing more than to kiss her at the moment, but he knew he needed to finish what he came to say first.

He removed his hand from her cheek and took hold of her hand which had been clenching the blanket. "I _am_ sorry I made you cry earlier today, Lexie. I never meant for Julia to walk in on us. I didn't think it through when we went back to my apartment. I just didn't want the day to end. When I tried to kiss you," Mark said, pausing when he felt Lexie flinch. "When I tried to kiss you," he repeated, "I had completely forgotten about Julia. When you are around me, I can't think of anyone else, Lexie."

He paused to see Lexie's reaction. When she didn't pull away, he continued. "Julia and I broke up. She's a wonderful person. She never did anything wrong and I feel very badly for hurting her. But, I would have hurt her worse if I had built a life with her while I was still in love with someone else."

When Mark said he was still in love with someone else, she knew. Derek had told her, but she didn't quite believe it. But, Mark sitting there staring at her pouring his heart out to her, she couldn't control it any longer.

"I love you. Oh God, oh my God that just came flying out of my face. I love you. I just - I did it again. I love you. I do. I just, I love you. And I have been trying not to say it. I have been trying so hard to just mash it down and ignore it and not say it. I tried really hard to move on. I did, really. But, then the babies came along. I didn't want ruin the life you had created, so I tried to raise them alone and tell myself I could do it without you. But it was never gonna work out, because I love you. I am so in love with you. You're in me. You're like, it's like you're a disease. It's like I am infected by Mark Sloan, and I just can't think about anything or anybody. And I can't sleep. I can't breathe. I can't eat. And I love you. I love you all the time. Every minute of every day, I love you. God, that feels good to just say that. I feel so much better. I love you."

Lexie was laughing and crying at the same time. Mark just sat there dumbfounded. He had come here to tell Lexie he was still in love with her and she beat him to it. He would have laughed if her words hadn't touched him so much. In his entire life, no one had ever spoken to him with such loving words.

When Mark didn't say anything, Lexie started to panic. _Oh, God. Maybe he was going to say something else. _"Mark, I …."

"I love you," Mark said grasping her hand in both of his.

Lexie had actually stopped breathing for a second. When she could finally speak again, she said, "Mark, you don't have to say it just because I said it. Just because of the girls. It's…"

He cut her off. "That's not why, Lexie. I love you. I have always loved you. I am always going to love you."

Lexie looked at Mark and just burst into tears. Mark just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest and buried his face in her hair. They sat that that for a few minutes while Lexie cried out all the emotions she had bottled up over the last year and Mark stroked her hair.

When her tears finally slowed down, Mark pulled back and once again wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I love you, Lexie," he said smiling.

"I love you too, Mark. I'm always going to love you," she said, finally smiling.

Mark gave her a big grin. "Well, that's good because I'm not letting you go this time." He gave her another smile before getting up off the bed. He threw her a box of tissues and walked over to the chair where his jacket was laying. Lexie was confused as to why he was walking away. She had hoped he was going to kiss her, so she wiped her eyes and nose watching what he was doing.

He walked around to Lexie side of the bed holding something in his hand. She still wasn't sure what he was doing until he got down on one knee. Whatever she was expecting, it most certainly wasn't this. She quickly sat forward and looked directly at Mark.

"Mark, what…" she said, breathlessly. Mark just cut her off with a shake of his head. He took her hand into his and with a very firm voice started to speak.

"Alexandra Caroline Grey, I have been in love with you for almost four years. From the moment you walked into my hotel room and told me to teach you, my heart was yours. You changed me. You show something in me that no one else had. You made me want to me a better man. For the first time in my life, I thought of someone other than me. You made me start thinking about a future – a house, marriage, children - and I wanted it with you."

"Someone told me once that I skip steps and I do. But, when I know what I want, I go for. And, I want you, Lexie. I want you for the rest of my life. You once said we had a 3% chance of survival and twice now the other 97% has won. But, not this time, Lexie. This time those odds are on our side and I'm not letting you go. You gave me two beautiful daughters and I can never thank you enough for that gift."

Mark paused to smile at Lexie who had her other hand pressed to her mouth. "We're going to get married. And you are going to be an amazing surgeon." Lexie let a sob escape past her lips and a huge smile spread across her face. "We're going to have two or three more kids."

Lexie finally spoke. "So, Sophia, Emma and Kayleigh can have siblings."

"Yea, two boys and a girl," he said smiling. "You and me, Lexie, we're going to have the best life together. Because we're supposed to end up together. We're meant to be," he choked out, barely controlling the tears that were threatening to spill out.

"Meant to be," Lexie said, the tears now streaming down her face.

He let go of her hand to open the ring box he had been clutching in his left hand. Lexie gasped when she saw the size of the diamond ring in the box.

"I have wanted to propose to you for three years, Lexie." Her head snapped up from the ring to Mark's face. He nodded. "I bought this ring two weeks before Sloane showed up. I was going to ask you to marry me on Christmas morning in our apartment." Lexie's mouth was hanging open. She couldn't believe that Mark had wanted to marry her for so long. Knowing that she could have been Mark's wife the entire time almost made her start weeping again, but she controlled herself. Everything happens for a reason and without the rocky events of their past, Sofia, Emma and Kayleigh might not exist.

Mark handed the ring to Lexie and said, "Read the inscription."

Lexie took the ring from Mark with shaky hands and with an even shakier voice read, "To the one who put me back together." Lexie looked up and locked eyes with Mark, who was now crying too. "Oh, Mark," she said, grasping his hand in her.

"You put me back together, Lex. And, I will always be so thankful for that, Lexie. I love you so much. You are the best part of me. You are the mother of my children. Will you do me the honor and be my wife?" he said, reaching up and cupping her cheek.

Lexie was crying so hard she could barely speak, but a shaky "yes" made it past her lips. That was all Mark needed to hear. He took the ring out of her hand and placed it on her finger. Lexie just stared down at the ring in wonderment.

Mark stood up and sat beside Lexie on the bed. He wound his fingers into her hair and kissed her for the first time in over a year. It was everything he had imagined and more. Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him deeper into the kiss. Neither one knew how they made it so long being apart.

When they finally broke apart, Lexie looked at Mark and placed her hand on his chest. "I've missed you so much," she said, still choking back tears.

"I've missed you, too, Lex. Every single day," he said before leaning forward and capturing her in another kiss. The kiss quickly escalated. Mark couldn't keep his hands off her and Lexie wasn't stopping him. She hadn't been kissed since the night the girls were conceived and as soon as Mark's mouth touched her, it was like liquid heat running through her body.

She moaned into the kiss and Mark slid his tongue in to touch hers. He slid his hands down her back feeling the heat of her body through her thin sleep cami. Before either of them realized it, they were both laying down on the bed.

Mark's hands moved around to Lexie's front and his hand brushed over her erect nipple which was visible through her shirt. She moaned again and arched her back. Mark started trailing kisses down the side of her neck and Lexie almost came undone at the feeling of Mark's beard against her soft skin. He continued trailing kisses down to her breasts where he took a nipple between his teeth.

Mark could feel himself getting harder. It took all his restraint from ripping Lexie's clothes off and ravaging her body. He had been with many women, but none ever turned him on like Lexie. Her innocent enthusiasm always drove him crazy. He could feel her withering underneath and she thrust her hips up against his and he let out a loud groan into Lexie's stomach.

Lexie could hardly think. She wanted Mark to take her. It had been so long since their last time and she wanted nothing more than to have him in her. But, something was nagging at the back of her mind telling her to stop. She kept telling herself to be quiet until she heard a soft giggle from across the room.

Lexie's head snapped up. "Oh my god!" she yelled. Mark took that to be a good sign. He had slipped his hand under her shirt and squeezed her bare breast in his hand.

She looked down at him in horror and slapped him with her hand. "Mark, stop!" she cried.

Mark looked up at her clearly confused. He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her and couldn't understand why she would want to stop. "Lex, what's wrong?"

She pointed across the room and he turned his head and burst out laughing. Emma and Kayleigh were both sitting up staring at their parents through the mesh of the playpen.

Mark looked up at Lexie, still laughing. "It's not funny!" she said. "They are watching us!"

"They're only six months old. They won't remember it," he said. Realizing his hand was still on Lexie's breast, he gave her nipple a quick squeeze and gave her a wink before removing his hand.

"You're terrible," she said, laughing.

Mark sat up and she moved to get out of bed. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"To get the girls," she said, obviously confused.

He gave her a look and pointed to his lap. "Could you give me a minute?" he said in an exasperated tone.

Lexie looked down and starting laughing. Mark's erection was still very evident against his pants.

"Yea, yea. Laugh it up," he said. "You're not the one being cock-blocked by his daughters."

Lexie swatted at him again. "You. Are. Horrible," she said laughing again.

"Yea, that's why you love me," he said, giving her his signature smile. She was standing in front of him and he pulled her in giving her a deep kiss and grabbing her ass. He heard two giggles coming from behind him. Not letting go of Lexie, he turned and looked at Emma and Kayleigh. "Oh, you think that's funny, do you?" he said smiling as he turned and pulled Lexie into his laps for another kiss. Lexie broke away laughing, but she couldn't be mad at Mark. He was so damn charming.

She sat there for a few minutes just content to be with Mark. Finally she said, "Is it safe to get the girls?"

"Yea, bring them over," he said standing up. He kicked off his shoes and stripped down to his boxers and his t-shirt as Lexie carried the girls over to the bed.

Mark climbed into bed beside Lexie and stroked her hair as she nursed the twins. She turned to smile at him and he leaned in to kiss her.

"You look beautiful like this, Lex," he said. She looked over at him surprised. He nodded and smiled. "There is something so primal about you nursing my children. I feel like a proud papa watching," he said with a chuckle. Lexie laughed too. "It's always incredibly arousing," he added, giving her a dirty smile.

"Well, that's too bad. Nothing you can do about that tonight," she said. "Unfortunately," she added, giving him a sassy smile.

Mark laughed again. "That's ok. We're parents. They come first," he said pausing to brush his hand over Emma and Kayleigh's heads. "But tomorrow night, we are staying at my place and they are sleeping in Sofia's room," he said and leaned into kiss Lexie to emphasize his meaning. She pulled back breathless. "Ok," she said flustered.

The babies were done nursing, so Mark took Emma and helped burped her as Lexie burped Kayleigh. She loved how great of a dad Mark was. For such a touch guy, he was a big teddy bear around his children. Lexie settled back against Mark's chest each still holding Kayleigh.

Mark softly talked to the girls as they drifted back to sleep and Lexie once again had tears in her eyes. "Guess what?" he said in an excited tone. "Mommy and Daddy are finally getting married. We should have gotten married a long time again, but if we did, you might not be here. Or your sister's Sofia. You have to meet Sofia. She's your big sister She's going to love you and you are going to love her. You have an even bigger sister named Sloane but she lives far away and we don't see her very often. We're going to get a big house and we are all going to live in it together. It's going to have lots of room full of lots of children. Mommy and Daddy are going to work on getting you a baby brother," he said, winking at Lexie causing her to break into a big smile. "We are going to be so happy, all of us," he whispered to the now sleeping babies.

Lexie started to move and he shook his head no. "I got this," he said, getting out of bed and carrying Emma over and placing her in the playpen. He came back and took Kayleigh out of Lexie's arm and settled her beside her sister. Lexie watched as he stood over the playpen just watching their daughters sleep. She didn't think she could be any happier than she was in the moment.

Finally, Mark came back into bed sliding in beside Lexie. She reached over and turned the light off before settling into Mark's arms laying her head against his chest. She sighed in contentment and Mark hugged her tighter. She ran her fingers over the band on her left ring finger and smiled. She could hardly believe she was engaged to Mark Sloan. Tonight felt like the best dream ever and she didn't want to wake up from it.

The last time that Mark had been this happy was the night before he found out about Sofia. They used to fall asleep like this all the time. She fit perfectly into his arms and that's where he wanted her to always be from now on. But, tonight, he was happier than he had ever been. Not only was Lexie finally wearing the ring he had bought so many years ago, their amazing daughters were sound asleep across the room. Mark Sloan figured he had to be the luckiest guy on the planet.

Lexie moved her right hand onto Mark's chest and he laid his hand over hers.

"I love you, Mark," she whispered.

"I love you, too, Lex," he said, squeezing her hands and they both drifted to sleep wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

***Author's Note: I hope you liked it. I am really happy with this chapter. I planned on it being about 3500 words. It's almost 8000. I blame Mark and Lexie. :) I did not plan on the proposal happening for a few more chapters, but like I said, Mark took over and I just couldn't say no. I think they have spent way too much time apart. It was time for it to happen. Besides, Mark and Lexie don't do anything conventionally anyway. **

**I hope the way I incorporated Mark and Lexie's "I Love You" scenes worked with this story. I really did love the words written for the show, but I hated how it turned out. Slexie should have gotten their proposal and their happy ending. So, this is my little "shove it" to SR. ;)**

**Please review! I would really love to know what you thought. **


	10. Chapter 10

It has been months since I've written for this story and I just cannot get myself back into the place where I want to write it anymore. I have been really missing Mark and Lexie and feeling very sad about how things ended on the show for them. I stopped watching GA after 9x02. Without Mark and Lexie, that show has nothing left for me.

I've been living in Grey's Anatomy 5x01 to 6x08. I have been re-watching episodes from this time period and reading tons of fan fics that don't deal with any of the crap Mark and Lexie went through on the show after episode 6x08.

I really don't think I can ever finish this story. I just hate Callie and the Sofia storyline so much. I just can't bring myself to go back into this story where they obviously exist.

Here's a quick summary of how I planned to finish this story:  
- Mark wakes up the next morning with his daughters staring at him and feels completely content for the first time in many years  
- Lexie and the girls "move" to Mark's and Lexie and Mark "reconcile" that night  
- Mark threatened to quit and take all his revenue with him unless Owen lets Lexie back into the residency program  
- Mark and Lexie went back to Boston to pack up her apartment while Meredith and Derek babysat  
- There would be some sort of showdown between Mark & Lexie and Calle & Arizona before boundaries were set on their relationships with each other and Sofia  
- In the epilogue, we would have seen Mark and Lexie married living in Seattle. Lexie was an attending, the twins would be about 4 and Lexie is pregnant with a son.

I thank each and every one who has read, reviewed and followed this story. I am very grateful and humbled by the response to this story. May Mark and Lexie always live on in our hearts and in fan fiction.


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